Book 6
8
Again, inside the nostrils there are sometimes formed little lumps like women's nipples, and these are fixed by their deepest and most fleshy parts. These should be treated by caustics, under which they are completely eaten away. A polypus, in fact, is a lump of this sort, sometimes white, sometimes reddish, which is attached to the bone of the nose, and fills the nostril, being directed sometimes towards the lips, sometimes backwards through that passage by which the breath goes from the nose to the throat. In this direction it may grow until it can be seen behind the uvula; it chokes the patient, especially when the south or east wind blows; generally it is soft, rarely hard, and the latter sort hinders breathing more and dilates the nose; it is then generally cancerous, and so should not be touched. But the other kind can generally be removed by the knife; sometimes, however, it dries up, if the following composition is inserted into the nostril on lint or on a feather: minium from Sinope, copper ore, lime, and sandarach 4 grams each, blacking 4 grams.
