650 CASTRATION. 



itself being at the same time much swollen, indurated, and 

 iirmly adhering to the surrounding structures. The presence of 

 the tumour, and the pain from the inflammation of the part, 

 cause the animal to become stiff during progression, and to 

 draw up the leg of the affected side whilst standing; to be 

 " tucked-up in his flank," to lose his appetite, and present other 

 signs of constitutional disturbance. Occasionally the limb be- 

 comes swollen from an erysipelatous inflammation, with much 

 lameness, and a tendency to suppuration of the inguinal 

 glands. Should both cords be diseased, all the above symptoms 

 are aggravated ; the animal no longer lies down, but, as Mr. 

 Percivall states, " continues to be preyed upon by an exhaust- 

 ing suppuration and fever, which bring on marasmus and death. 

 The cord on dissection appears solid, thick, and scirrhous, and as 

 large as a man's arm, all the way from the wound to the loins, 

 with vessels in it the size of one's finger, and divers abscesses, 

 full of black, sanious, fcetid matter ; the kidney, haunch, and 

 thigh of the same side containing fistulous ulcerations; the 

 bladder having the appearance of a scirrhus; in fine, all 

 the surrounding parts participating more or less in the dis- 

 org:anization." 



I have made the above quotation from Percivall for the 

 reason that I have never had an opportunity of maldng a post 

 mortem examination of a case of scirrhus of the cord. 



Treatment. — ^Acting upon the conclusion that the fungous 

 growth proceeds from peripheral irritation, and not from intrinsic 

 causes, as previous disease of the cord, or the tubercular or 

 cancerous diathesis, the practitioner will lose no time in remov- 

 ing as much of the mass as he possibly can reach with the 

 knife. I have operated repeatedly and successfully, and have 

 proceeded as follows : — The animal being cast, I have dissected 

 the tumour from the surrounding scrotum, as high up as |)os- 

 sible, sometimes removing a portion of skin about half-an-inch 

 in breadth along with the diseased mass ; then having fairly 

 separated it from the healthy structures, I have placed the flat 

 clam, Fig. 114, upon the cord, as near the abdominal ring as 

 possible, and have removed the tumour by very slow torsion, 

 twisting it slowly round with the hand, until it has completely 

 given way. There has been no hoemorrhage, although I have 

 removed a champignon between six and seven pounds in weight 



