IN THE practice of ophthalmology, hysterical amblyopia is considered a rare encounter. Reports in the literature give isolated instances, such as the study by Redslob and Brini1of a 14 year old girl who had onset of hysterical blindness after seeing the movie "Symphonie pastorale," which deals with a young blind girl. The patient's condition improved when she was threatened with ocular surgery. In military service, ophthalmologists have reported series of cases of ocular hysteria, but they stated that such cases were seldom seen in civilian life. Halpern2described the cases of 15 soldiers in whom acute amblyopia developed while they were awaiting overseas duty at a preembarkation camp. The degree of amblyopia was about 20/100 or 20/200, while the field changes were tubular and usually less than 20 degrees. Another series, of 13 servicemen, was described by Mahoney and Linhart,3in whom the condition existed in