SECTION III 



METHODS OF CASTRATION 



In the castration of animals the practicability of 

 any given luodiis oprrandi can only be judged accord- 

 ing to the convenience of the veterinarian and the 

 possible difficulties to be encountered in varying cases. 

 Ablation of the testicle being the essential object of 

 the operation, assuredly, then, it behooves the sur- 

 geon to accomplish this result in the most practical 

 manner possible, with the least discomfort and danger 

 to his subject and to himself. 



A consideration in the performance of this opera- 

 tion is the danger of hemorrhage, and because of this 

 possibility being greater in certain animals, the instru- 

 ment to be used should be selected accordingly. In 

 subjects prone to suffer hemorrhage, the employment 

 of the ecraseur, the emasculator, ligatures, or even the 

 wood clamp, is indicated; but for all practical pur- 

 poses where hemorrhage is improbable, removal of the 

 testicles may be safely and immediately aeconrplished 

 by the use of the knife. The use of the ecraseur or 

 emasculator in the castration of a weanling pig, for 

 instance, is impractical, and is not a favorable choice 

 for the operator. In animals where there exists some 

 possibility of hemorrhage, the knife may be employed 

 in such a manner that the tissues severed are scraped 

 and not keenly divided, and a moderate degree of 

 "unlimited" torsion of the spermatic eoi'd — twisting 

 it round and round — and then dividing the tissues by 

 scraping, lessens the danger of hemorrhage. 



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