What is a common test to assess peripheral vision?

The confrontation visual field test is a widely used method to evaluate peripheral vision because it allows for a direct assessment of a patient's visual field in relation to the examiner’s vision. During the test, the examiner presents a series of objects or fingers in the periphery of the patient’s visual field, assessing whether the patient can see them. This technique is particularly useful in a clinical setting as it does not require specialized equipment and can quickly help identify any abnormalities in peripheral vision, which may indicate conditions like glaucoma or neurological deficits.

Visual acuity tests primarily focus on central vision and measure how well a person can see at various distances, thus they do not specifically assess peripheral vision. Color vision tests evaluate the ability to perceive colors, which has no bearing on peripheral vision assessment. Similarly, the pupillary light reaction test assesses how the pupils respond to light but does not provide any information about the visual fields or peripheral vision specifically.