The occurrence of the disease is usually due to the fact that the leaking plasma from the choroidocapillary, because of the disturbance of barrier function of the pigmentary epithelium of the retina, enters the subretina through the damaged pigmentary epithelium, which causes the liquid to accumulate between the retinal neurepithelium and pegmentary epithelium, causing the disciform detachment of the retina at the posterier pole.

From its clinical manifestations, the case should pertain to "Shizhan Hunmiao" (blurring of vision) in traditional Chinese medicine.  Its cause, sometimes, belongs to asthenia (or deficiency) and, sometimes, to sthenia (or excess). In the asthenia cases, deficiency of the liver and kidney or deficiency of the heart and spleen gives rise to nutritional deficiency of eye, causing the attack of the trouble. In the sthenia cases, internal accumulation of damp-heat and turbid phlegm leads to qi stagnation and blood stasis that, consequently, affects the eye and blocks the pores, so that the case occurs.