What visual deficiency would be expected if the optic nerve is damaged?

When the optic nerve is damaged, it can lead to complete blindness in the affected eye. The optic nerve carries visual information from the retina to the brain, and when it is injured, the transmission of these signals is compromised. As a result, the area corresponding to the damaged nerve will not send visual information to the brain, resulting in total loss of sight in that eye.

Understanding the other potential visual deficiencies can provide further clarity. Bitemporal hemianopsia, for example, typically occurs with damage to the optic chiasm rather than an individual optic nerve. This specific type of visual field loss involves the outer (temporal) fields of vision in both eyes. Peripheral vision loss can occur due to various conditions affecting the retina or visual pathways but does not isolate vision loss specifically to one eye. Color blindness, typically a hereditary condition linked to the cones in the retina, is unrelated to damage specifically in the optic nerve.

Thus, the manifestation of complete blindness aligns directly with the expected outcome of optic nerve damage, affirming the correctness of the answer.