THE URINARY SYSTEM 421 



excessive service in hot weather, particularly when the grooms are 

 not sufficiently careful to wash the parts well with cold water 

 immediately after service. It may also arise both in the stallion 

 and bull from having communication with a female suffering from 

 chronic inflammation and ulceration of the vagina {par. 752), 

 or from whites (leucorrhcea, par. 751). Treatment. — Take the 

 animal off service, and wash the parts, and also the sheath, night and 

 morning, with a mixture of 1 part phenyle and 80 parts water. 

 Afterwards dress with the following lotion : Sulphate of zinc, 

 2 drachms ; fluid sanitas, 5 ounces ; cold water, 1 pint. 



732. Sebaceous Accumulations in the Urethral Sinus 



(Plate XVI 1 1., R) are collections of solid, clay-like matter in the 

 cavity round the opening of the urethra, at the point of the penis of 

 the horse, which occasionally cause lameness in one or both hind-legs. 

 In four cases, in my practice, the animals could not pull their hind 

 extremities forward, but stood with them stretched backwards, as if 

 in the act of staling. On washing the penis, and removing the hard 

 matter, they pulled themselves together as if nothing had been 

 amiss. In three other cases the horses had a peculiar lameness in 

 one hind-leg, without any apparent cause ; but on examining and 

 removing the collected material from the penis the lameness dis- 

 appeared. Prevention. — Wash the parts with soap and warm water 

 once every five or six months, and remove any accumulation that 

 may be present. 



733. Castration (the Operation of Removing the Testes).— One 

 of the oldest operations on record. The main object of its per- 

 formance is to render animals more docile and easy to manage, and 

 although it has a marked quietening effect in the horse, yet the 

 stallion, when trained, worked, and fed in the same way as a gelding, 

 generally does its work with equal ease and docility. Of all the 

 animals subjected to the operation, the best results are seen in the 

 bull — as witness the calm, quiet appearance of the eye and head, 

 and the easy comportment of a big three or four years old bullock 

 compared to the rugged forehead and the fierce eye of a bull of the 

 same age. Although castration can be performed with ease and 



