The aim of this article is to assemble and make easily available the more generally accepted methods of local anesthesia in ophthalmic practice. A few modifications that have been tried and found satisfactory are included. HISTORICAL REVIEW Anesthesia has unquestionably been one of the great factors in the evolution of modern surgery and is, in a large measure, responsible for the tremendous advance that has been made in surgery since 1846, when it was introduced. It is difficult to picture surgery without the aid of anesthesia, but this was the situation less than one hundred years ago. In spite of the fact that the desire to prevent pain during surgical operations dates back to antiquity, this aim was not realized until comparatively recently. The early Egyptian, Chinese, Greek and Roman physicians attempted to allay the pain incident to surgical operations by the use of alcoholic beverages, drinks with narcotic properties