PRACTICAL CEYPTORCHID CASTRATION 55 



fascia passes back into the pelvis and here I 

 thrust two fingers through into the belly cavity. 

 In making the opening one must remember that 

 there are two layers to go through, the fascia and 

 the peritoneum. Sometimes the peritoneum 

 pushes ahead of the fingers and strips off of the 

 wall and requires a special effort to puncture. 

 This is particularly true in older horses and in 

 second operations where age and inflammation 

 have thickened and toughened the peritoneum. 

 It is also more apt to occur in the horses with 

 empty intestinal tracts. 



Before leaving the subject of the opening into 

 the belly I wish to emphasize one thing. Preserve 

 the integrity of the band of fibers that bounds 

 the internal ring anteriorly and inferiorly. This 

 band is not easily torn, but in the use of force in 

 extracting the testicle or in other manipulations, 

 see to it that no great tension is thrown upon it. 

 So long as this band is intact the rent in the fascia 

 is limited by it. If it is torn across, any increase 

 in the intra-abdominal pressure may cause it to 

 tear farther down and the protection against pro- 

 lapse of the bowel is lost. In all cases where an 



