CASTRATION. 765 



Even where peritonitis is avoided a local abscess often forms in 

 the vaginal wall owing to infection of the operation wound. The 

 symptoms are delayed for several days, sometimes for a fortnight 

 after operation, and consist in straining efforts, moderate peritonism, 

 diminution in appetite, etc. Vaginal or rectal examination reveals 

 the character and extent of the disease. The abscess should be 

 punctured through the vagina. 



Finally, it may happen that castration does not prevent the 

 recurrence of oestrum. The ovarian pedicle may have been divided 

 too close to the glandular tissue, a fragment of which has remained 

 adherent to the pedicle. 



Certain other operative complications are also possible in dealing 

 with cows suffering from nympho-mania which have developed cysts, 

 tumours, or abscesses of the ovaries. It is then necessary to enlarge 

 the incision in the vagina and take particular precautions not to 

 rupture the cysts or abscesses in the peritoneal cavity. The operator 

 must proceed cautiously and modify his technique according to cir- 

 cumstances. 



CASTRATION OF THE SOW. 



Castration of the sow has been practised since very ancient 

 times. The operation is performed on animals intended for fatten- 

 ing, and at all ages between six weeks and maturity. 



Anatomical Arrangement of the Genital Organs. — Before perform- 

 ing ovariotomy in the sow it is indispensable to understand the special 

 arrangement of the genital organs. The uterine horns are very long 

 and folded on themselves, forming convolutions which give them 

 somewhat the appearance of small loops of intestine. Nevertheless 

 they can readily be distinguished by the touch, for they are much 

 smaller in size than the latter. 



In young sows, two to three months old, they are of about the 

 thickness of a small ]iencil. Differentiation is more difffcult in 

 sows that have borne litters, but as the ovaries alone are withdrawn, 

 leaving the horns of the uterus uninjured, this distinction is unim- 

 portant. 



The horns of the uterus are suspended in the peritoneal cavity 

 by means of very extensive, well-developed, and very lax ligaments, 

 and, as the horns of the uterus lie at a very acute angle one to the 

 other, the ovaries are very close to the median line of the abdo- 

 men. The length and yielding character of the parts and the close 

 apposition of the ovaries explain why the latter can l)e found and ex- 

 tracted through a single incision in the flank, either on the right or 

 left side. 



