NEET-PG Ophthalmology Previous Year Questions (2017–2026)

Correct answer: D. Strabismic amblyopia from active cortical suppression.

When one eye deviates, the two retinal images cannot fuse and the child would experience double vision. To avoid diplopia the visual cortex actively suppresses the image from the deviating eye. If this suppression persists through the sensitive period of visual development, that eye never develops normal acuity, producing strabismic amblyopia with no structural lesion. Treatment is occlusion (patching) or penalisation of the sound eye to force use of the amblyopic one.

Esotropia in a child: the constant eye turn drives strabismic amblyopia.

Incorrect Options:

• Optic nerve hypoplasia is an organic, small and underdeveloped disc that itself limits vision.


Optic disc on fundoscopy; in hypoplasia the disc is abnormally small with a double-ring sign.

• Refractive amblyopia arises from large uncorrected or unequal refractive error, not from an eye turn, and is managed mainly with correct spectacles.


Correcting refractive error with spectacles is central to treating refractive amblyopia.

• Retinal dysplasia is a structural maldevelopment of the retina, an organic cause excluded by the normal fundus here.


Retinal histology; dysplasia shows disorganised layers and rosette formation.

High-Yield Facts:

• Strabismic amblyopia is functional, with a structurally normal eye.
• The brain suppresses the deviating eye to avoid diplopia.
• Earlier treatment within the sensitive period gives better recovery.
• Patching the sound eye is the standard therapy.

Correct answer: A. Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy.

Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy follows occlusion of the short posterior ciliary arteries that supply the optic nerve head. It causes sudden, painless visual loss with a typical altitudinal field defect and a pale, swollen disc bearing splinter haemorrhages. The non-arteritic form affects vasculopaths (hypertension, diabetes); the arteritic form from giant cell arteritis must be excluded urgently to save the fellow eye.

Optic disc oedema; in AION the swelling is pallid and segmental with splinter haemorrhages.

Incorrect Options:

• Central retinal vein occlusion gives a blood and thunder fundus with widespread retinal haemorrhages in all four quadrants.


Central retinal vein occlusion: diffuse haemorrhages and dilated tortuous veins.

• Optic neuritis causes pain on eye movement and a central scotoma in a younger patient, often with a normal or only mildly swollen disc.


Optic neuritis: painful vision loss, often with a near-normal disc (retrobulbar).

• Posterior ischemic optic neuropathy involves ischaemia behind the lamina cribrosa, so the disc looks normal at onset.


In posterior ischemic optic neuropathy the disc appears normal acutely.

High-Yield Facts:

• AION results from occlusion of the short posterior ciliary arteries, giving an altitudinal defect.
• Always exclude giant cell arteritis (check ESR and CRP) in older patients.
• Non-arteritic AION is linked to a small crowded disc, the disc at risk.
• Optic neuritis is painful; AION is painless.

Correct Answer: B. Right eye suppression

With red over the right eye and green over the left eye, seeing only 3 green dots means only the left eye's image is registering, so the right eye's contribution is being suppressed.

Why the other options fail

• A. Left eye suppression: would instead show only 2 red dots (the right eye's image alone).
• C. Diplopia with esodeviation: requires seeing all 5 dots (both colors, uncrossed) rather than only 3 green.
• D. Diplopia with exodeviation: also requires all 5 dots, crossed rather than uncrossed.

Pearl: 2 red = left eye suppressed, 3 green = right eye suppressed, 5 dots = diplopia (crossed or uncrossed).