The experiments described in this paper were designed to reproduce in animals the scleral abscess, which occasionally follows scleral buckling procedures for treatment of retinal detachment, and to determine the factors responsible for the production of abscess. Materials The animals used were adult, pigmented rabbits. The infecting agent was an undiluted 18 hour broth culture of Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase-positive, Giorgio strain. Diathermy with the Walker unit and cryopexy with the Linde ophthalmic cryosurgical unit, were used to produce chorioretinal lesions. Two types of silicone implants were included in the scleral buckles: a 5.0 mm sponge cylinder and a 5.0 mm grooved rectangular implant of solid silicone. The suture material was 5-0 Dacron. Method In addition to the presence of an infecting agent, the critical factors in the production of scleral abscess associated with a buckling procedure were assumed to be the thermal stimulus used to produce the chorioretinal adhesions and