CASTRATION. 371 



him. He thus describes his method of operating in the 13th 

 vohime of the Veterinarian : — 



" After securing the horse on his back, I open the scrotum in 

 the usual way, and let out the testicle. I then place the iron 

 clams on the cord and divide it. This being done, I take hold 

 of a small portion of it with the forceps (embracing the artery, 

 of course), and apply the ligature. I generally have an 

 assistant ready with the ligature made into a noose, who places 

 it on that portion of the cord which I intend it to embrace 

 before I apply the forceps. I then draw up the artery, whilst 

 he secures the ligature. This I consider the most important 

 part of the operation." 



Mr. C. frequently bleeds afterwards, and gives a laxative. 



Mr. Dray, of Leeds, states, in the same number of the Vete- 

 rinarian, that he employs the ligature in castration. After 

 casting the horse, he says: — "I then proceed to remove the 

 left testicle, first by a bold incision through the scrotum, and 

 sometimes through the tunica albuginea testes with a scalpel. 

 I separate with my fingers the vas deferens from the spermatic 

 cord ; a yard of waxed three-thread twine is placed round the 

 cord, and, by the aid of an assistant, the ligature is pulled very 

 tight and made secure. The testicle is then removed by a pair 

 of scissors or the scalpel. The ligature should be left long, so 

 as to allow six or seven inches of it to project below the scrotum, 

 in order to })revent the external incision uniting by adhesive 

 inflammation before the slough is ready to come away. The 

 ligatures generally come away by themselves in ten days or a 

 fortnight." 



Torsion. — Another method of performing the operation has 

 been introduced by Messrs. Daws, Simonds, and Wardle, and 

 is thus described by Mr. Daws : — *' The operation of castration 

 by torsion is performed as follows : — An incision through the 

 scrotum on one side is first made with the scalpel sufficiently 

 large to admit the free escape of the testicle ; the vas deferens 

 is then divided with the same instrument about an inch above 

 the epididymis. By pursuing this plan, the resistance of the 

 cremaster muscle will be defeated ; and the testicle, with its 

 vessels, will lie in a quiet state until the conclusion of the 

 operation. 



" A longitudinal incision is now to be made through the tunica 

 vaginalis reflexa, and a portion of the spermatic artery laid bare, 

 and freed from its adjacent attachments. The torsion forceps is 

 then to be applied to the artery, which should be divided in that 

 portion immediately below the grasp of the instrument, the 

 thumb and index finger of the left hand pressing back the blood 

 ill the vessel. The artery is then to be twisted by the forceps, 



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