A severe cramping pain in the rectum unconnected with any disease. It may be due to muscle spasm. The pain is of short duration and subsides without treatment.
Sudden transitory impairment, or loss, of vision. It usually affects only one eye, and is commonly due to circulatory failure. In its simplest form it occurs in normal people on rising suddenly from the sitting or recumbent position, when it is due to the effects of gravity. It also occurs in migraine. A not uncommon cause, particularly in elderly people, is transient ocular ISCHAEMIA, resulting from blockage of the circulation to the retina (see EYE) by emboli (see EMBOLISM) from the common carotid artery or the heart. Treatment in this last group of cases consists of control of the blood pressure if this is raised, as it often is in such cases; and the administration of drugs that reduce the stickiness of blood platelets, such as aspirin. In some instances, removal of the part of the carotid artery from which the emboli are coming may be indicated.... amaurosis fugax
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