Chapter X.

After parturition and purification women become full of milk; and in some it not only flows through the nipples but through other parts of the breast, and sometimes from the cheeks; and if this fluid is not matured nor secreted, but remains full, hard knots are formed, which remain for a long time; for every part of the breast is so spongy that, if a hair is swallowed with the drink, pain ensues in the breasts, until it either escapes spontaneously with the milk, or is sucked out, this is called τριχιᾷν. They continue to have milk until they conceive again. It then ceases, and is quenched in other creatures as well as in the human subject. The catamenia seldom take place while milk is secreted, though this sometimes occurs in women while nursing. On the whole, an effusion of fluid seldom takes place from many parts of the body at the same time, and those that have hæmorrhoids have usually less purification. In some it takes place through ixiæ (varices), and is secreted from the loins before it reaches the uterus; and those who vomit blood when the purification is suppressed suffer no harm.