• Papilledema refers to edema (swelling) of the optic disc secondary to any factor which increases cerebral spinal fluid pressure.
  Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)
  The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2025
• Swelling around the optic disc, usually due to increased intracranial pressure or pressure on the optic nerve by a tumor.
  NCI
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Swelling around the optic disk, the area where the optic nerve (the nerve that carries messages from the eye to the brain) enters the eyeball. Papilledema occurs when increased brain pressure caused by tumors or other problems results in swelling of the optic nerve.
  NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Swelling of the optic disc secondary to increased intracranial pressure.
  NICHD Pediatric Terminology
  U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
• Swelling of the OPTIC DISK, usually in association with increased intracranial pressure, characterized by hyperemia, blurring of the disk margins, microhemorrhages, blind spot enlargement, and engorgement of retinal veins. Chronic papilledema may cause OPTIC ATROPHY and visual loss. (Miller et al., Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 4th ed, p175)
  NLM Medical Subject Headings
  U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
• A disorder characterized by swelling around the optic disc.
  Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events
  U.S. National Institutes of Health, 2021
• Papilledema is swelling of the optic disk due to increased intracranial pressure. Optic disk swelling resulting from causes that do not involve increased intracranial pressure (eg, malignant hypertension, thrombosis of the central retinal vein) is not considered papilledema. There are no early symptoms, although vision may be disturbed...
  Merck Manuals
  Merck & Co., Inc., 2025
• Papilledema is an optic disc swelling that is secondary to elevated intracranial pressure. In contrast to other causes of optic disc swelling, vision usually is well preserved with acute papilledema.
  Medscape
  WebMD, 2025
• Papilledema is a condition in which increased pressure in or around the brain (intracranial pressure) causes swelling of the part of the optic nerve inside the eye (optic disc). Symptoms of increased intracranial pressure include headache or nausea and vomiting. Vision problems are not common initially, but may include short flickers of...
  NIH Genetic and Rare Diseases
  National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences