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Diseases of the Genital Organs 



Lesser injuries to the penis of the stallion are caused by 

 the tail hairs of the mare, pushed into the vagina by the 

 glans, which, being drawn tightly across the penis, cut the 

 organ. This is to be prevented by the stallion groom, who 

 should draw the tail of the mare aside at the commencement 

 of the copulatory act ; apply a bandage about the base of the 

 tail extending low enough to secure any hairs that might be 

 caught by the glans penis ; or braid the hairs of the tail upon 

 its dorsal surface. 



The danger of injury to the penis of the bull is increased 

 when a large male attempts to copulate with a small heifer, 

 with a very narrow vulva and perhaps important remnants 

 of the hymen. The presence of severe granular venereal 

 disease lessens the caliber of the vulva and the roughness 

 caused by the nodules increases materially the resistance to 

 the entrance and the two combined, with the pain caused by 

 the forcible contact, render injury more probable. Some- 

 times the penis of the bull withstands violence surprisingly 

 well. I examined a neuter, or freemartin, with severe lacer- 

 ations of the vulva and periproctal tissues. The owner re- 

 lated that, as the "heifer" would not come in estrum, he de- 

 cided to stimulate its appearance by causing the animal to 

 be raped by the bull. (The practice of raping females which 

 fail to come in estrum is not rare amongst a careless, ignor- 

 ant class of breeders.) The penis of the bull had caused 

 serious injury to the neuter, compelling prompt slaughter. 

 The penis of the bull escaped known injury. 



Coital injuries to the penis and prepuce of the bull are 

 probably more common and vital than those occurring to 

 the genital canal of the cow. Exposure to minor injuries 

 is constant. In cattle the universal presence of the granu- 

 lar venereal disease causes a constant genital catarrh, which, 

 escaping at the inferor vulvar commissure, befouls the vul- 

 val- tuft of hairs. The muco-pus forms hard, dry crusts 

 upon the tuft. The sticky muco-pus also catches up and in- 

 corporates in the crusts various foreign bodies. The en- 

 crusted vulvar tuft is liable to become caught and forced 



