264 



A DICTIONARY. 



tos expansion, and the vaginal coat of the 

 testicles, with a sweep of the scalpel : but 

 with one less dexterous at the operation, it 

 will be more prudent to make the first in- 

 cision through the scrotum and dartus only, 

 to the required extent ; and then to do the 

 same by the vaginal coat, thus avoiding to 

 wound the testicle, which would produce 

 violent resistance, and give unnecessary 

 pain. We, however, take this opportunity 

 of noting, that cases have occurred, when 

 the tunica vaginalis was divided, no testicle 

 followed ; firm adhesions between this tunic 

 and the tunica albuginea having retained it 

 fast. In such cases the scalpel must be 

 employed to free the testicle, by dissecting 

 it away from the vaginal sac. When no 

 such obstruction occurs, the testicle, if the 

 opening be sufficiently large, will slip out ; 

 but the operator must be prepared at the 

 moment of so doing to expect some violent 

 struggles, more particularly if he attempt 

 to restrain the contractions of the cremas- 

 ter, and by main force to draw out the tes- 

 ticle. Preparatory to this, therefore, the 

 twitch should be tightened ; the attendants, 

 especially the man at the head, must be on 

 the alert ; and the testicle itself, at the time 

 of this violent retraction of the cremaster, 

 should be merely held, but not dragged in 

 opposition to the contraction. If the clams 

 have been put on over the whole, according 

 to Mr. Percivall's method, they will assist 

 in retaining the retracting parts ; but they 

 must not be used with too much pressure. 

 The resistance having subsided, the clams 

 must now be removed ; or, if they have 

 not been previously in use, they must now 

 be taken in hand, and, having been prepared 

 by some tow being wound round them, 

 should be placed easily on the cord, while 

 time is found to free from the grip of the 

 pincers the vas deferen^^ or spermatic tube, 

 which is seen continued from the epididy- 

 mis. The Russians, Mr. Goodwin informs 

 us, cut it through when they operate. Hu- 

 manity is much concerned in its removal 

 from pressure, because of the excess of 

 pain felt when it is included. It is neces- 

 sary, before the final fixing of the clams, to 



determine on the part where the division of 

 the cord is to talce place. To use Mr. Per- 

 civall's words, ' K it be left too long, it is 

 apt to hang out of the wound afterward, 

 and retard the process of union;' on the 

 other hand, if it be cut very short, and the 

 arteries happen to bleed afresh after it has 

 been released from the clams, the operator 

 will find it no easy task to recover it. The 

 natural length of the cord, which will mainly 

 depend on the degree of the descent of the 

 gland, will be our best guide in this partic- 

 ular. The place of section determined on and 

 marked, close the clams sufficiently tight to 

 retain firm hold of the cord, and to effectu- 

 ally stop the circulation within it. There 

 are now two modes of making the division : 

 the one is to sever it with a scalpel, and 

 then to sufficiently sear the end of it as to 

 prevent a flow of blood. The other, and 

 in some respects the preferable method, is 

 to employ a blunt-edged iron, which is to 

 divide by little crucial sawings, so that, 

 when the cord is separated, it shall not pre- 

 sent a uniform surface, but ragged edges, 

 which will perfectly close the mouths of the 

 vessels. This done, loosen the clams suf- 

 ficiently to observe whether there be any 

 flow of blood ; gently wipe the end of the 

 cord also with the finger, as sometimes an 

 accidental small plug gets within the vessel; 

 this had better be removed at the time. 

 Retain a hold on the clams a few minutes 

 longer ; and, while loosening them gradu- 

 ally, observe to have an iron in readiness 

 again to touch the end of the cord, if any 

 blood makes its appearance. Satisfied on 

 this point, sponge the parts with cold water ; 

 no sort of external application is necessary, 

 still less any resin seared on the end of the 

 cord, which can only irritate, and will never 

 adhere. On the after-treatment much dif- 

 ference of opinion has existed, and even yet 

 exists. The powerful evidence of accumu- 

 lated facts has now convinced us of the 

 necessity and propriety of some motion for 

 the newly castrated horse, as a preventive 

 of local congestion ; such practice is com- 

 mon in most countries, and seems salutary 

 in all. Hurtrel d'Ai'boval, thus impressed, 



