CASTRATION BY CRUSHING THE TESTICLE. 199 



limbs of the tendon of the external oblique abdominal muscle, can be 

 enlarged by drawing back the hind limb of the corresponding side. 

 The ring can then be felt b)- passing the hand gently upwards along 

 the inner surface of the thigh and some estimate of its size can be 

 made, a matter of importance under certain circumstances. 



In the horse the inner abdominal ring is an opening about f inch 

 to It, inches long, between the posterior border of the inner oblique 

 muscle a:nd the reflected portion of the external oblique tendon, 

 i.e. Poupart's ligament; it lies just in front of the transverse portion 

 of the OS pubis, inclined obliquely forwards and outwards ; f inch 

 nearer the middle line lies the subcutaneous abdominal artery. 



Castration does not necessarily imply removal of the testicles. 

 The function alone of the testicle can be destroyed, but as the process 

 is necessaril}^ less certain than that in which the testicles are removed, 

 the latter is very generally preferred. No description of the subject, 

 however, could reasonably be regarded as complete which omitted 

 reference to the former method. A short description will first be 

 given of 



I. Castration witJiuiit removal of the testicles. 



1. Crushing the Testicle. — A method formerly used, especially 

 in Spain, consisted in first applying clams to the scrotum and then 

 crushing the testicles singly by blows from a wooden hammer. 

 Violent inflammation was thus produced which ultimateh' led to 

 degeneration and loss of function of the testicle. Apart Irom the 

 uncertainty of the result, the method was barbarous and painiul in the 

 extreme. The same is true of the system of perforating the testicle 

 with a glowing iron. 



2. Crushing the Spermatic Cord. — The neck of the scrotum 

 was included in wooden clams which were hammered for several 

 minutes with a wooden hammer. The operation was usually per- 

 formed on calves. When successful, the testicles gradually became 

 atrophied in consequence of thrombosis of the spermatic vessels. 

 Steers are still castrated by this method in India. The operator 

 strikes the spermatic cord, which is supported by a wooden block, 

 several times with a wooden hammer. The operation, if it may so be 

 called, is also performed on sheep and goats, the reason of its adoption 

 being the danger in a hot climate of inflicting surgical wounds and the 

 fact that after-treatment is thus dispensed with. 



Siebold recommends a somewhat similar method for bulls and goats. 

 A wooden clam, about 8 inches long and ij inches wide, provided with 

 a screw for closing it, is applied tightly to the neck of the scrotum for 

 several minutes. The scrotum remains intact but the spermatic 



