550 FALSE INGUINAL HERNIA. 



tunica vaginalis and the testicle removed. A description of several 

 cases of acute inguinal hernia treated by operation will be found in 

 Cadiot and Dollar's "Clinical Veterinary Medicine and Surgery." 



Where it is important to preserve the testicle, the subcutaneous 

 operation, recommended by Bouley, can be carried out, though 

 the strictest asepsis must be observed. The scrotum and tunica 

 vaginalis are cautiously opened at the outer side, in the neighbourhood 

 of the inguinal ring, so that a grooved director may be introduced 

 into the narrowest part of the canal, which is then incised with the 

 hernia knife. Others use the fingers instead of a probe and pass 

 the hernia knife along these to incise the abdominal ring. Siegen 

 states having thus rendered a horse fit for work in twelve days. The 

 outer wound is sewn up and a suitable antiseptic dressing applied. 

 Unless strictly antiseptic, this method is open to grave objection, as 

 Peuch has already pointed out ; and, besides, it does not prevent 

 recurrence of the hernia. 



A bloodless method of operation which aims at preserving the 

 testicle, but could only be used in very recent cases, is described 

 by Bagge and Griinwald. The stallion is cast, rolled on its back, 

 and anaesthetised. A mass of cotton wool saturated with chloroform 

 is laid on the scrotum. The evaporation is said to cause rapid 

 diminution in volume of the gas enclosed in the strangulated portion 

 of bowel, and to allow of reduction in a few minutes. 



In other respects the operation for inguinal hernia is not so grave. 

 Bouley states having effected a cure after strangulation lasting 

 twenty-four hours. According to Stockfleth, of 55 horses, 13 died 

 after dilatation of the abdominal ring ; in Alfort, 8 out of 20 died ; 

 but Benjamin only lost 5 out of 28 operated on. 



(2.) INTERSTITIAL INGUINAL HERNIA. FALSE INGUINAL 



HERNIA. 



This term is used to describe inguinal or scrotal hernia where 

 the hernial contents lie outside the tunica vaginalis. A portion of 

 the small intestine, colon, or very occasionally omentum, passes 

 into the inguinal canal or scrotum, not through the imier abdominal 

 ring, but through a rent in front of the abdominal ring. At this 

 point in the abdominal wall of the horse a lacuna exists, which is 

 filled with connective tissue, and is therefore less resistant. This 

 section of the abdominal wall is lined with peritoneum, and is con- 

 sidered by Franck to be a tendinous expansion of the oblique abdominal 

 muscle ; by Schmalz it is termed the inguinal ring. 



