TORSION OF THE SPERMATIC CORD. 185 



the less resistant coats of the artery being torn and retracted, and a 

 coagulum forms within the vessel. 



4. Broad Crushing of the Cord by the Emasculator. In England and 

 the Colonies an instrument known as the emasculator or castrator, 

 of which there are several patterns, is largely employed for the 

 castration of horses and bulls. In action the castrator is rapid, 

 humane, and generally satisfactory, there being little bleeding, and 

 it is equally serviceable for operation in the standing and recumbent 

 positions. The procedure varies with the age of the subject and 

 the condition of the cord. After exposing the testicle, the whole 

 cord may be placed within the grasp of the instrument, or the 

 posterior portion may be severed with the knife, and the castrator 

 applied only to the vascular cord, or the posterior and anterior 

 portions may be crushed separately in the order indicated. The 

 last procedure should be followed in the castration of aged horses, 

 in which the small testicular artery may bleed after section without 

 crushing of the posterior portion of the cord. 



5. Torsion of the Cord. Torsion may be practised on the covered 

 or uncovered cord. Torsion of the covered cord should be preferred, 

 as there is less risk of peritoneal infection and prolapse of the bowel. 

 In performing this operation by the uncovered method the posterior 

 portion of the cord may be divided with a knife, and the anterior, 

 containing the blood vessels, is twisted in one direction round its 

 long axis until it ruptures. In horses and bulls, after opening the 

 scrotum and applying a clam or forceps above the epididymis, 

 in order to fix the vascular part, the cord, with the testicle, 

 is removed by rotating the testicle and cord either with a second 

 forceps or with the hands. Li horses, Jacoulet opens the scrotum 

 in the middle line by a single incision through the skin and dartos, 

 and then divides the deeper coverings of the testicles by a further 

 incision on each side. In sheep, swine, and carnivora, the spermatic 

 cord is fixed between the thumb and the fore-finger of the left hand, 

 while the testicle is rotated with the right hand ; the simplest method, 

 after dividing the cremaster muscle with scissors, being to thrust 

 the index finger of the right hand through the centre of the cord 

 immediately above the epididymis, and using the incision so made 

 as a means of grasping and rotating the cord. 



When forceps are used for twisting the cord they should not be 

 applied too near the fixation clam or forceps, a space of | to 1 inch 

 being left between the two. The most popular of the older 

 forceps for fixing the spermatic cord are Togl's which are made of 

 two sizes, one for horses and bulls, and the other for smaller 



