Although cases of purulent nasal discharge come chiefly under the care of the general practitioner and the nasal surgeon, they are also at times of interest to the physician, the ophthalmic surgeon and the dentist, and may therefore well form a subject for discussion at the Harveian Society, comprising as it does amongst its members practitioners of every branch of the healing art.

To make the discussion as practical and useful as possible, I propose that we limit it to the clinical aspect, i.e., diagnosis and treatment of chronic cases. The time at our disposal will hardly permit us to deal with every variety of nasal suppuration. Let us suppose, then, that we are concerned with a patient who complains of a chronic discharge from the nose.