Spotita7ieous Degeneration of the Testicles 135 



occur ii? the organ, they should be promptly opened, the pus 

 evacuated and the cavity treated antiseptically. 



Castration is always to be considered in case of orchitis, whether 

 acute or chronic. In cases of acute orchitis or epididymitis in- 

 volving one gland only, there is a constant tendency for the other 

 to become involved. If the life of the animal is threatened by 

 the intensity of the inflammation, if the function of the gland is 

 apparently wholly and permanently destroyed, or if there appears 

 to be danger of the sound gland becoming involved, the removal 

 of the affected testicle .should occur without delay. In chronic 

 recurrent orchitis of both testicles, especially if examination of 

 the semen indicates the absence of spermatozoa or if the animal 

 has proven sterile in the stud, total castration should be per- 

 formed and such salvage obtained from the animal as conditions 

 may permit. 



In animals affected with acute orchitis, there is some hesitancy 

 at times about castration lest the patient cannot well endure the 

 operation but, in our experience, it is a most efficient therapeutic 

 agent and the operation at once improves the general well-being 

 of the animal. When orchitis is present as a complication of an 

 acute infectious fever, like " Pink Eye," we should regard cas- 

 tration as un.safe, until the acute stage of the malady has run its 

 cour.se and the disea.se has become chronic and located chiefl}' or 

 wholly in the testes. Since, in orchitis, there are usually intimate 

 and exten.sive adhesions between the peritoneal layers, it is safer 

 and more convenient to castrate by the covered operation. The 

 removal of one of the testicles, providing the other is sound, does 

 not interfere with the reproductive power of the animal. 



3. Spontaneous Degeneration of the Testicles. Zschokke re- 

 cords spontaneous degeneration of the testicles as a not uncommon 

 cause of sterility. He attributes it largely to the action of toxines 

 upon the secretory cells of the organ, thus causing their destruc- 

 tion. He a.ssumes that these toxines reach the glands through 

 the blood or lymph, during the course of some sy.stemic di.sease, 

 in which the deleterious poisons are generated, and that the effect 

 of these to.xineswill be most noticeable upon tho.se tissues which are 

 most sen.sitive, among which are the secretorj- cells of the testi- 

 cles. When these toxines act upon the spermatoblasts, their 

 first effect is the destruction of their physiologic function. If 

 the toxicity is slight and temporary, the cells soon recover their 



