148 DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



pressed into the groove in the face of each clamp. In applying the 

 clamp over the cord it should be drawn so close with pincers as to press 

 out all blood from the compressed cord and destroy its vitality, and 

 the cord applied upon the compressing clamps should be so hard- 

 twined that it will not stretch later and slacken the hold. When the 

 clamp has been fixed the testicle is cut off one-half to 1 inch below it, 

 and the clamp may be left thus for twenty- four hours ; then, by cut- 

 ting the cord around one end of the clamp, the latter may be opened 

 and the stump liberated without any danger of bleeding. Should the 

 stump hang out of the wound it should be pushed inside with the finger 

 and left there. The wound should begin to discharge white matter 

 oil the second day in hot weather or the third in cold, and from that 

 time a good recovery may be expected. 



CONDITIONS FAVORABLE TO SUCCESSFUL CASTRATION. 



The young horse suffers less from castration than the old, and very 

 rarely perishes. Good health in the subject is all important. Castra- 

 tion should never be attempted during the prevalence of strangles, 

 influenza, catarrhal fever, contagious pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia, 

 purpura hemorrhagica, or other specific disease, nor on subjects that 

 have been kept in close, ill ventilated, filthy buildings, where the 

 system is liable to have been charged with putrid bacteria or other 

 products. Warm weather is to be preferred to cold, but the fly time 

 should be avoided or the flies kept at a distance by the application of 

 a watery solution of tar, carbolic acid, or camphor to the wound. 



CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHIDS (rIDGLINGS). 



This is the removal of a testicle or testicles that have failed to 

 descend- into the scrotum, but have been detained in the inguinal 

 canal or inside the abdomen. The manipulation requires an accurate 

 anatomical knowledge of the parts, and special skill, experience, and 

 manual dexterity, and can not be made clear to the unprofessional 

 mind in a short notice. It consists, however, in the discovery and 

 removal of the missing gland by exploring through the natural chan- 

 nel (the inguinal canal), or, in case it is absent, through the inguinal 

 ring or through an artificial opening made in front and above that 

 channel between the abdominal muscles and the strong fascia on the 

 inner side of the thigh (Poupart's ligament). ^Vhatever method is 

 used, the skin, hands, and instruments should be rendered aseptic 

 with a solution of mercuric chloride 1 part, water 2,000 parts (a car- 

 bolic acid lotion for the instruments), and the spermatic cord is best 

 torn through by the ecraseur. In many such cases, too, it is desirable 

 to sew up the external wound and keep the animal still, to favor 

 healing of the wound by adhesion. 



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