220 I'^eterinary Obstetrics 



America where remov^al of the ovaries by hnear tension or tear- 

 ing away is practiced in the spaying of heifers for fattening, 

 estrum and nymphomania are reported common, surely as a 

 result of leaving behind some vestiges of ovarian tissues.] 



b. Castration by torsion of the ovary from the rectum or 

 vagina. While, in the cadaver, the detachment of the ovary by 

 torsion requires 6-10 complete revolutions, we failed in every 

 case to bring about its removal by this means in the living 

 animal because of the firmness of its attachment to the broad 

 ligament and the smoothness of the ovary, which caused it to 

 inevitably slip away. 



c. Equally impracticable to the two preceding methods have 

 proven our attempts to ligate the ovary through the superior 

 vaginal wall, including the latter with strong silk or elastic liga- 

 ture, which was attempted by us in old cows with wide, flaccid 

 vaginae. Apparently our failure was due to the violent strain- 

 ing following the operation. 



d. On the other hand, the method of castration which we have 

 regularly applied in our work and which has yielded excellent 

 results is based upon the modern surgical principle that only the 

 disea.sed part is to be removed, so that for some years we have 

 practiced unilateral castration by vagiyial incision. 



This operation is indicated in valuable pedigreed animals with 

 only one ovary involved in cystic degeneration, of a character 

 which can not be removed by manipulation and which is causing 

 nymphomania or sterility. Its success depends upon the sound- 

 ness of the remaining ovary, which can be readily verified by 

 direct palpation through the vaginal opening during the opera- 

 tion. The practical results of this operation, showing its great 

 economic value, we are able to show from our experience that, if 

 the remaining ovary is wholly normal, estrum ensues in three 

 weeks after castration and that, after another three weeks, the ani- 

 mal can be successfully .served and impregnated. On the other hand 

 we freely confess that the one sided castration, by increasing the 

 nutritive supply to the remaining sound ovary, may lead to its 

 cystic degeneration, and that experimentally we may cause the 

 development of cysts by unilateral castration. If the remaining 

 ovary is only slightly enlarged, the increased nutritive supply to 

 it resulting from the removal of the diseased organ causes the 

 regular occurrence of peripheral cysts in from 2-4 weeks after 



