20 
GEORGE G. VAN MATER. 
able on moving the lid, as in conjunctivitis. It is well to 
bear in mind that to make a careful examination it is neces¬ 
sary in many cases to instill three or four times a 4 per cent, 
solution of cocaine, as the photophobia is often so intense as 
to make it next to impossible to properly examine an eye and 
diagnose the condition. It is always a good thing to preface 
all other treatment in conjunctivitis with the instillation of a 
one per cent, solution of atropine, while in iritis it is imper¬ 
ative. Remember always in iritis other methods may be neg¬ 
lected, but atropine first, last and all the time—make other 
treatment accessory to this. Also bear in mind the fact of 
there being a rheumatic iritis which will prove stubborn and 
rebellious until you cure the constitutional trouble, and then 
you may easily clear up the eye trouble. Both in conjunc¬ 
tivitis and iritis the dark stall is a good thing. Boric acid, 
saturated solution, ter in die , in one drop doses dropped in the 
conjunctival sac, is excellent in conjunctivitis, and this may, 
of course, be alternated with the atropine solution. The con¬ 
stitutional symptoms will be treated as they may present 
themselves as in any case. Accompanying these conditions, 
and again alone, the punctum (which we spoke of in the first 
part of this paper) may participate—become closed—causing 
an overflow of tears (epiphora). While this seems a simple 
affair, it may be fraught with dire results; the tears becoming 
acrid and removing the hair from the cheek, and even going 
on to a very high degree of inflammation of the skin. The thing 
to do here is to re-establish the natural opening with a small 
probe, avoiding cutting, as you would destroy the sphincter 
in the punctum, to which it owes its sucker-like action which 
enables it to collect the tears. As before mentioned, these 
puncta are continued by the lachrymal ducts, which are very 
narrow, and carry the tears to the lachrymal sac; this sac is 
continued by the lachrymal canal, or nasal duct, which opens 
into the nostril between the two turbinated bones, the re¬ 
mainder of the canal being beneath the nasal mucous mem¬ 
brane on the inner surface of the outer wing of the nostril; it 
terminates by an orifice (sometimes two) which appear as if 
punched out. In the horse this canal opens on the cutaneous 
