28 ANIMAL CASTRATION. 



already practiced in Germany as far back as the last 

 century. The instruments employed are two forceps 

 of peculiar construction, and which were more or 

 less modified, one of which (fixing forceps, Fig. 3,) 

 is to be applied upon a fixed point of the cord, where 

 it is suffered to remain, and the other (moving forceps, 

 Fig. 4,) is employed to accomplish the rotation of 

 the testicle and the lower end of the cord. Those of 

 Renault and Delafond or of Reynal are now in gen- 

 eral use. Those of Beaufils (Fig. 5) are, we believe, 

 too complicated for general use. 



Modus Operand*. In the first step of the opera- 

 tion, the ordinary manipulations of the division of 

 the envelopes, the opening of the sac and exposure 

 of the testicle being accomplished, and the envelopes 

 being carefully pushed upwards, the torsion and ex- 

 cision of the cord are effected in the following man- 

 ner : The entire cord is embraced by the fixing forceps 

 (see Fig. 6), or only its anterior fasciculus if the poste- 

 rior septum has been cut, as in the process by free 

 torsion above the epididymis. An assistant, seizing it 

 from before backwards between its open branches 

 and strongly closing them, holds it firmly, without 

 pulling upon the cord. The operator then grasps 

 the cord with the moving forceps above the testicle, 

 and a little below the point held by the assistant, 

 leaving a small space between the instruments, and 

 closing his own tightly, begins the movement of tor- 

 sion, which he directs from left to right. For this 

 he sometimes requires both hands, one of them keep- 

 ing the instrument in place, while the other continues 



