PART I. 



CASTRATION 



Definition — Orchectomy; excision of one or more testicles. Tlie term 

 castration is also applied to the removal of ovaries from the female. How- 

 ever, when the word castration appears in this volume — with the exception 

 of the title — it has reference to unsexing the male animal. 



History — Castration is one of the most ancient of surgical operations 

 upon animals. It was advocated and practiced as early as seven centuries 

 before the Christian era. Time has not lessened its application or useful- 

 ness. In fact, during recent years it has rapidly increased in popularity 

 until now it is considered one of the most useful and valuable operations 

 in the whole domain of animal surgery. 



It is practiced without hesitancy upon all domestic and wild animals, 

 and its economic value cannot be overestimated. 



The earlier modes of operating were as follows : Martelage, tearing, 

 scraping, torsion, firing, bistournage, ligation and clamping. These an- 

 cient methods were extremely painful, and by some considered cruel and 

 inhumane. Tliey have all been superseded by less painful and more modern 

 ones, the most recent of which are emasculation, vasectomy, bisection, vaso- 

 ligation and, lastly, vas-occlusion, recently advocated by Dr. Napoleon 

 Berdozzi, of Italy. While the above have been mentioned simply from an 

 historic standpoint, one of them, viz., emasculation, stands out prominently 

 as the best, most widely practiced and most satisfactory method of operat- 

 ing, and on this account the emasculation method will he adhered to in all 

 instances where it is applicable, in this work. 



