Definition
An X-linked retinal dystrophy belonging to the group of pigmentary retinopathies. Retinitis pigmentosa is characterized by retinal pigment deposits visible on fundus examination and primary loss of rod photoreceptor cells followed by secondary loss of cone photoreceptors. Patients typically have night vision blindness and loss of midperipheral visual field. As their condition progresses, they lose their far peripheral visual field and eventually central vision as well. In RP3, affected males have a severe phenotype, and carrier females show a wide spectrum of clinical features ranging from completely asymptomatic to severe retinitis pigmentosa. Heterozygous women can manifest a form of choroidoretinal degeneration which is distinguished from other types by the absence of visual defects in the presence of a brilliant, scintillating, golden-hued, patchy appearance most striking around the macula, called a tapetal-like retinal reflex.