US Medical Term · anatomy
Occipital Lobe
Lóbulo occipital
In 9 languages
| Language | Term |
|---|---|
| English | Occipital Lobe |
| Spanish (Español) | Lóbulo occipital |
| Chinese (中文) | 枕葉 |
| Korean (한국어) | 후두엽 |
| Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) | Thùy chẩm |
| Filipino (Tagalog) | Occipital lobe |
| Portuguese (Português) | Lobo occipital |
| Thai (ภาษาไทย) | สมองกลีบท้ายทอย |
| Japanese (日本語) | 後頭葉 |
What it means
The occipital lobe is found at the very back of each brain hemisphere. It is the brain's main visual processing center. Signals from your eyes travel through the optic nerves to reach the occipital lobe, where your brain interprets shapes, colors, movement, and spatial depth to create the images you see. Both occipital lobes together process your entire visual field. Damage to the occipital lobe can cause vision loss even if your eyes are perfectly healthy. A stroke at the back of the brain may cause you to go blind in part of your visual field. Visual migraines with flashing lights or zigzag patterns are often caused by temporary changes in occipital lobe activity.
How to say it
Sentences a patient might use with a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or insurer:
I am losing vision in part of my visual field — my doctor said it involves the occipital lobe.
Estoy perdiendo visión en parte de mi campo visual — mi doctor dijo que involucra el lóbulo occipital.
Could the flashing lights in my migraines be related to my occipital lobe?
¿Podrían las luces intermitentes en mis migrañas estar relacionadas con mi lóbulo occipital?
The MRI showed damage in my occipital lobe after the stroke.
La resonancia magnética mostró daño en mi lóbulo occipital después del derrame.
Where you'll see it
Related terms
Sources
Last reviewed: September 2026