ANIMAL CASTRATION. 77 



two ways of accomplishing this, viz. : the direct and 

 the indirect division of the cord. In the former 

 case the amputation is effected either by the process 

 of cauterization, by limited torsion, or with the 

 ecraseur. In the latter the testicle is removed 

 either by a ligature or by the process of the clamps. 

 The process by the ecraseur is at once that which is 

 most generally preferred and the easiest of applica- 

 tion. 



ABDOMINAL CRYPTORCHIDY. 



In this severe form of the trouble under considera- 

 tion, the various steps of the operation demand 

 careful study. Indeed, so common, so serious, and 

 so frequently fatal are the complications which the 

 surgeon may expect to encounter, that many opera- 

 tors habitually discourage the interference with this 

 peculiar violation of normal conditions. 



The first two steps of the operation are similar to 

 those which belong to castration in inguinal crypt- 

 orchidy. Following on we have for the 



Third step, the perforation of the inguinal canal, or 

 the establishment, by the operator, of an artificial 

 communication from without, with the abdominal 

 cavity within. To effect this the surgeon introduces 

 his hand, with the fingers united in the form of a 

 cone, into the external inguinal ring, and carefully 

 forces them upward towards the external angle of 

 the ilium, resting them upon the crural arch. He 

 soon reaches the closed superior inguinal ring, feel- 

 ing only the peritoneal membrane, where it is readily 



