The lacrimal sac, into which the lacrimal ducts open, may fail to discharge its contents by reason of constriction or closure of the duct leading to the nose, and it then forms a rounded swelling beneath the inner angle of the eye.

The narrowed or obstructed ducts may be made pervious by a fine, silver probe passed down to the lacrimal sac, and any existing inflammation of the passages may be counteracted by the use of steaming mashes of wheat bran, by fomentations or wet cloths over the face, and even by the use of astringent eyewashes and the injection of similar liquids into the lacrimal canal from its nasal opening.