1. A form of increased Attenuation in a Fiber that results from bending a fiber around a restrictive curvature (a macrobend) or from minute distortions in the fiber (microbends). 2. A form of increased attenuation caused by allowing high order modes to radiate from the walls of a fiber optic cable. There are 2 common types of bend losses. The first type results when the fiber optic Cable is curved through a restrictive radius or curvature. The second type is generally referred to as microbends. It is caused by small distortions of the Fiber Optic Cable imposed by externally induced perturbations as, for example, slip shod cabling techniques.