The main requirement for trichromacy is three cone cell classes that are each sensitive to different wavelengths of light and therefore have different spectral sensitivities. Dichromats only express two cone classes and cone monochromats express one. For each cone missing, one of the opponent channels (red-green and blue-yellow) that are responsible for color discrimination are disabled. This is the mechanism for protanopia, deuteranopia, blue cone monochromacy and tritanopia. Even when there is trichromatic color vision and all three opponent channels are active, the size of an individuals color gamut is determined by the dynamic range of the opponent channels, which can be affected by several factors. One of these factors is the peak wavelengths of the spectral sensitivities of the three cones, namely the spectral distance between two cones contributing to an opponent channel. When this distance is smaller, the dynamic range is smaller and the color gamut is smaller, leading to a color vision deficiency. This is the mechanism for congenital protanomaly and deuteranomaly, though not of tritanomaly. The opponent channels can also be affected by the prevalence of certain cones in the retinal mosaic. The cones are not equally prevalent and not evenly distributed in the retina. When the number of one of these cone types is significantly reduced, this can also lead to or contribute to a color vision deficiency. This is one of the causes of tritanomaly. Simple colored filters can also create mild color vision deficiencies.
The degree to which women who are carriers of either protanomaly or deuteranomaly are demonstrably tetrachromatic and require a mixture of four spectral lights to match an arbitrary light is very variable. Jameson et al. have shown that with appropriate and sufficiently sensitive equipment it can be demonstrated that any female carrier of red–green color blindness (i.e. heterozygous protanomaly, or heterozygous deuteranomaly) is a tetrachromat to a greater or lesser extent. Since the incidence of anomalous trichromacy in males is ~6%, which should equal the incidence of anomalous M opsin or L opsin alleles, it follows that the prevalence of unaffected female carriers of colorblindness (and therefore of potential tetrachromats) is 11.3% (i.e. 94% × 6% × 2), based on the Hardy–Weinberg principle. One such woman has been widely reported to be a true or functional tetrachromat, as she can discriminate colors most other people cant. Diagnosis
There are several color perception tests, or color vision standards that are capable of diagnosing or screening for color blindness. The Ishihara color test, which consists of a series of pictures of colored spots, is the test most often used to detect red–green color deficiencies and most often recognized by the public. However, this can be attributed more to its ease of application, and less to do with its precision. In fact, there are several types of common color perception tests. Most clinical tests are designed to be fast, simple, and effective at identifying broad categories of color blindness.