ASEPTIC CASTRATION. 193 



varying results. The animals should be prepared, cast, and 

 anaesthetised as above described. The necessary arrangements 

 having been made, and the hands, instruments, and ligatures 

 sterilised, the first step consists in thoroughly disinfecting the field 

 of operation. The scrotum, penis, and their surroundings are care- 

 fully washed with soap and water, rubbed with alcohol, and rinsed 

 with sublimate or other disinfecting solution. The upper hind limb 

 and the hobble restraining it should be moistened to prevent hairs 

 falling on the operation wound. The other precautions are similar 

 to those suggested in connection with antiseptic operations. 



The operator first grasps the right testicle, presses it towards the 

 base of the scrotum, incises the skin, dartos, fascial layers, and tunica 

 vaginalis, and allows the testicle to protrude. Having secured this, he 

 ligatures the spermatic cord with two or three ligatures, according 

 to its thickness. To facilitate operation, the cord is compressed by 

 forceps, the ligatures are applied below this point, aseptic catgut or 

 silk being used, and the spermatic cord is divided half an inch below 

 the point of ligation. Any blood that may have escaped is removed 

 with sterilised cotton wool, the wound in the scrotum closed with 

 button sutures, the tunica vaginalis, if possible, being included, 

 though this is often difficult. The sutures should be inserted deeply, 

 so as to bring the subcutis in contact over a considerable area. After 

 the left testicle has been removed in a similar way, the scrotal surface 

 is rinsed with a disinfecting fluid, powdered with iodoform or iodo- 

 form and tannin, and covered with a thin layer of wadding, which 

 adheres to the skin by means of the tannin, and remains as a pro- 

 tection after the horse rises. 



The difficulties in obtaining asepsis are less apparent during 

 operation than afterwards, inasmuch as a bandage is difficult to apply, 

 and a really secure protection against infection can scarcely be 

 devised. Irrigation of the wounds is usually neither necessary nor 

 desirable, as it retards healing. 



Aseptic castration has not yet been seriously practised, and is 

 scarcely likely to become common on account of its many difficulties. 

 Whilst ordinary castration, with exposure of the testicle, can be 

 performed in from four to ten minutes, aseptic castration demands 

 from half to three quarters of an hour. Moreover, it offers no great 

 advantages. Castration by ordinary methods is seldom followed 

 by bad results. Nielsen castrated forty-one stallions and eleven 

 boars by torsion, without using sutures, and only saw swelling and 

 suppuration in two of the stallions, a result which bears favourable 

 comparison with those afforded by aseptic castration, and is worthy 



