PRACTICAL CBYPTOECHID CASTRATION 89 



tion, and further, in such cases, a rectal exami- 

 nation by the best operators gives no positive re- 

 sults and frequently leads to harmful procedures. 

 The question of the side upon which to operate is 

 not, except very rarely, a difficult one to decide. 

 The answer is obvious if the animal has never 

 been operated upon or if one testicle has been 

 removed and there is but one scar and that 

 clearly upon one side of the scrotum. A diagno- 

 sis is to be made, not at all upon the history the 

 owner gives, but upon one's own findings. This 

 examination is to be made after the animal is 

 cast, and consequently will be considered later. 



Disinfection. — Antiseptic applications to the 

 scrotum, prepuce and thighs, some hours preced- 

 ing the operation, have no place in the technic. 

 Theoretically they may be defended, but practi- 

 cally they cannot. 



The total pre-operative treatment therefore 

 consists of placing the patient upon a moderate 

 diet for twenty-four to forty-eight hours preced- 

 ing the operation. Nothing else is necessary, and 

 other processes are not only superfluous but in- 

 convenient to the general practitioner. 



