CRYPTORCHIDISM. 213 



When prolapse accompanies castration with clams, the clams 

 should be removed, and attempts made to release the prolapsed 

 cord and thrust it back again into the scrotum. A strong stream 

 of cold water directed on the parts often results in the cord being 

 retracted. Failing retraction, a clam or ligature should be applied 

 above the prolapsed part. 



Abscess formation in or about the scrotum results from infection 

 produced by retained discharge. Infection leads to suppurative 

 inflammation of the connective tissue and finally to abscess forma- 

 tion. In this case the swelling is more marked at the spot where 

 the abscess will finally break, and is often hemispherical in shape. 

 Immediately such symptoms are noted, the wound must be examined, 

 and the abscess cavity freely exposed or a counter-opening made. 

 Occasionally it is advantageous to insert a drainage-tube. 



(6) CRYPTORCHIDISM AND THE CASTRATION OP 

 CRYPTORCHIDS. 



In the horse and dog, less frequently in other species, the testicles 

 are sometimes either absent or in a state of rudimentary develop- 

 ment. Leisering found the testicles of a stallion, which had in- 

 effectually covered forty mares, almost normal in size, but flabby 

 in texture, wanting the tense normal character. Their arteries were 

 distended, their connective tissue thickened, the semen watery, 

 transparent, and containing many round-cells, but only a few sper- 

 matozoa. Testicles which have been retained in the abdominal 

 cavity often show similar appearances. This condition (retentio 

 testis) is not infrequent in stallions of the coarse, heavy variety, but 

 is also seen in other animals. Leisering and Gurlt found the testicles 

 of a dog still in the abdominal cavity ; Preusser has seen the same 

 thing in pigs, and Kaiser in bulls. Imminger considers the cryptorchid 

 condition is as common in bulls as in horses, and he has been able to 

 establish the hereditary character of the condition in certain cases. This 

 abnormality is termed retentio abdominalis when the testicle lies 

 near the upper wall of the abdomen, retentio iliaca when it is near 

 the inner abdominal ring, and retentio inguinalis when it is within 

 the inguinal canal. The apparent absence of one or both testicles 

 thus produced is termed monorchismus or cryptorchismus. During 

 the first few months of life in the foal the testicles certainly lie in the 

 inguinal canal, but towards the end of the first year they 

 descend into the scrotum. 



