Pontocaine, formerly called pantocaine (paranormobutylaminoben-zoyldimethylamino-ethanol), in the form of the hydrochloride has gained great popularity as an anesthetic in the fields of medicine and surgery in this country in the last three years. In the practice of ophthalmology it is used in a 0.5 to a 2 per cent solution for instillation into the eye and has replaced many other anesthetics. In Germany it is used in a 1: 1,000 solution for infiltration anesthesia, and in this country it is widely used in the field of general surgery for spinal anesthesia in a 1 per cent solution. So far in this country no ill effects of the drug have been reported. In Germany hypersensitivity in the eye has been reported by Janke, Mannheimer, Gebb, Rauh and others, and, in the field of surgery, by Schuberth. Since the possibility of hypersensitivity to pontocaine is not generally appreciated, it would seem