398 RAYMOND PEARL AND M. R. CURTIS 



painted field of operation. Care is taken to have all instru- 

 ments, sponges, and ligatures thoroughly sterilized. 



The abdominal incision for operations on the oviduct is to 

 the left of the middle line. The intestines are crowded to the 

 right and covered with a piece of sterile vaselined silk and held 

 with a retractor. The oviduct is thus exposed. After the 

 operation the muscle incision is closed by several interrupted 

 sutures with fine silk and the skin incision by continuous sutures 

 with catgut. The closed incision is finally painted with collo- 

 dion. In almost all the cases described the wound healed quickly 

 by first intention and the stitches in the skin were removed about 

 a week after the operation. In a few cases there was a slight 

 granulation of the skin wound. 



THE EFFECT OF INTERFERENCE WITH THE OVIDUCT UPON THE 

 GROWTH OF THE OVARY, AND ITS FUNCTIONAL INTEGRITY 



For many years it was an apparently generally accepted 

 notion that the section or removal of a bird's oviduct caused 

 degeneration of the ovary. Yarrell ('27) says that if a small 

 portion of the oviduct is removed the ova do not afterward en- 

 large. According to Tegetmeier ('76) 'poulardes'- are fattened 

 females rendered sterile when young pullets by cutting the ovi- 

 duct, or by removing a portion of it. In regard to the effect of this 

 operation he makes the following statement: "The development 

 of the ovary or egg-producing organs is entirely prevented and 

 the birds fatten rapidly attaining also a large size." Bland 

 Sutton ('85) and Brandt ('89) also state on Yarrell's authority 

 that removal of the oviduct causes the shrinking of the ovary. 



It is well known from gynecological practice that in man 

 the section or removal of portions of oviduct does not cause 

 atrophy of the ovary. Mclhoy ('12) showed that in rabbits, 

 rats and guinea pigs removal of the ovary caused atrophy of the 

 uterus, mammae, and external genitals, but removal of the 

 uterus had no effect on the ovary. Sellheim ('07) has shown 



2 The term is still used in France, but is now in reality applied to any very 

 fat female especially to a very fat pullet. They are often said to be sterilized 

 females. 



