The authors describe spontaneous tears of the retinal pigmented epithelium in three eyes of two patients with age-related macular degeneration. In all instances the development of the tear was associated with an occult choroidal neovascular membrane detected by fluoroangiography. The authors describe typical clinical features and contemporary views regarding the pathogenesis of the tear.

        Key words: tear of the retinal pigmented epithelium, age-related macular degeneration