OPERATIONS. 929 



VT. Spaying. 



This is an operation on the female to remove the ovaries, and corres- 

 ponds to castraiion of the male. In young, small heifers it is best done 

 in the flank. Lay the heifer on her left side with the legs stretched back. 

 Clip off the hair from the angle between the point of the hip and last rib ; 

 make an incision, running up and down, large enough to admit the hand ; 

 pass the hand into the abdominal cavity and find the womb ; follow up 

 a horn of the womb till the ovary is reached, pull the ovary out, and 

 either cut or twist it off, — preferably the latter, to avoid bleeding. If 

 cut off, the artery should bo twisted, to arrest the hemorrhiige. The 

 parts arc put back, and the other ovary is brought up and operated on 

 similarly. This one may bo more difficult to bring out, but gentle trac- 

 tion will accomplish it. Select warm pleasant weather for this operation, 

 to avoid chilling the intestines. Great care should be taken to keep 

 everything as clean as possible, as hair or other foreign particles, intro- 

 duced into the belly, might cause fatal peritonitis. Stitch up the walls of 

 the belly first ; then the skin with cat-gut, interrupted sutures. Dress 

 the wound with lotion No. 9. 



Cov.-s are best operated on standing. Make the incision throuo-h the 

 upper wall of the vagina close to the os uteri, large enough to introduce two 

 fingers, by which the ovaries are pulled out and excised with an ecra- 

 seur. No stitches are needed in this wound. Dress it afterwards with 

 lotion No. 47, twice a day. Feed lightly for a day or two before the oper- 

 ation, and give bran mashes for a few days after. If peritonitis sets in, 

 (which, however, it is not very likely to do), treat it according to the 

 directions for that disease. 



Vn. Tapping the Bladder of the Ox or Bull. 



When it is necessary to draw off the urine of the male, an opening 

 must be made at the point where the penis turns over the angle of the 

 pelvis, and the catheter introduced as seen in the annexed cut. The in- 

 cision should be made very carefully, and no larger than really neces- 

 sary to introduce ^he instrument. Dress the wound with No. 9, twice a 

 day. It will oe advisable to take a stitch in it, of course. The curve in 

 the urethral canal (see cut on page 872) is what makes this operation 

 necessary, as it renders the introduction of a catheter by the penis 

 impossible. 



Vni. Sutures and Bandages. 



Sutures are used in sewing wounds, whenever they are longer than half 

 an inch. The material generally used is silk, doubled once or twice, to 

 make the cord large enough to prevent it from jiulling out. Silver wire 



