230 OPERATIVE TECHNIQUE. 



bulls, and is carried out in the following manner : — The animal 

 is placed with its right side against the wall, and its left hind 

 foot is fixed by means of a cord passed around the neck. An 

 assistant standing opposite the hind quarters holds the limb by the 

 Achilles tendon with his right hand, and draws it outwards. As in 

 calves the sperm.atic cord is not fully developed, the knot is sometimes 

 difficult to tie. The greatest cleanliness must be observed. 



Wehrhahn has shown that bulls may be castrated aseptically, 

 though only at the cost of much time and care. 



Sheep are best castrated between the fourth and sixth weeks. 

 The animal is laid on a table (lambs are held by the legs), the limbs 

 being grasped by an assistant or tied together ; old rams should be 

 placed on the back, and held by a couple of strong men: In lambs, 

 scraping or torsion is the best method. Old rams may also be castrated 

 by torsion, provided sufficient care be taken, though ligation is also 

 successful. Clams are very seldom used in sheep. The scrotum is 

 either opened as in the horse, or its base is cut off, a method which 

 ensures free drainage. 



Goats are best castrated by subcutaneous ligation of the spermatic 

 cord or b}- means of the elastic ligature, as before mentioned. 



3. Castration of Swine. 



Swine are usually castrated during the first few weeks or months 

 of life, though not infrequently one is required to operate on old boars. 

 No particular danger attends operation on these animals provided 

 that previous to casting the scrotum and inguinal canal be examined for 

 inguinal hernia, which in them occurs with some frequency. The pig 

 being laid on its back on a table and held b}- one or two assistants, 

 the operator presses the testicles towards the base of the scrotum with 

 the left hand. He then incises the covering of the testicles, parallel to 

 the scrotal raphe, and about f to i inch distant from it, allowing 

 the testicles to protrude. Although in young animals simple division 

 of the spermatic cord with scissors is not always attended with 

 danger, yet torsion is preferable, and is carried out, after dividing the 

 posterior portion of the cord, by passing the index finger through the 

 spermatic cord, just above the epidid3^mis, whilst the cord is grasped a 

 short distance above the epididymis with the thumb and index finger 

 of the left hand. The index finger of the right hand is then rotated, 

 and the cord twisted until the testicle falls away. Another method 

 consists in dividing the posterior part of the cord with a knife, laying 

 the remaining portion on the index finger of the left hand, and scraping 

 it with a blunt knife until completely divided. 



