NASAL POLYPUS. 
205 
external nares. I lost no time in having an instrument made, 
the blade of which was curved a little upon its flat surface, 
both borders being ground to a cutting edge that I might cut 
either from above downwards, or from below upwards. After 
securing the horse by a twitch on his ear, the knife was 
readily passed up the nostril by the side of the septum to the 
attachment of the polypus, the pedicle was cut through and 
the tumour dropped out. Its removal, however, was attended 
by considerable hemorrhage, although not sufficient to create 
alarm. In about twenty minutes the bleeding ceased. The 
wound very soon cicatrized, and in a short time the horse 
was sold as a sound one. I lost sight of him then, but about 
two years afterwards I heard he had been sold for a very high 
price to go abroad. 
“ To illustrate what strange occurrences may happen, I 
may add, that on my returning to England, and one day 
while fulfilling the duties of my official appointment in the 
Royal Veterinary College, I was much surprised at seeing a 
chestnut horse, with white legs, come into the yard, which I 
immediately recognized as the same animal from which the 
polypus was extracted eight years before. He was in perfect 
health, and had no signs of the recurrence of such growths 
[ n the nasal passage.” George W. Varnell. 
R. V. C.; March 7, 1855. 
Mr. Varnell’s case completes the interest attaching to the 
subjoined sketch of half a horse’s head, as preserved in the 
Museum of the Veterinary School in Stuttgart. The head 
belonged to a six- year old stallion, which I am told was 
Tig. 1. 
a 
Note . — By an error of the wood-engraver, the polypus is represented as 
being in the left instead of the right nasal cavity. 
