302 DISEASES OF OATTLE. 



tion, and her head held by a strong assistant. The legs also must be 

 secured to prevent the animal from kicking. A vertical incision should 

 be made in the left flank, about the middle of the upper portion, care 

 being taken not to make the opening too far down, in order to avoid 

 the division of the circumflex artery which traverses that region. The 

 operator should now make an opening through the peritoneum, which 

 is best done with the fingers. Next introduce the hand and arm into 

 the abdominal cavity and direct the hand backward toward the pel- 

 vis, searching for the horns of the uterus. Follow them up and the 

 ovaries will easily be found. They should then be drawn outward, 

 and may be removed either by the ecraseur or by torsion. Clos- 

 ing and suturing the wound will complete the operation. An adhesive 

 plaster bandage can be beneficially applied. 



The operation by the vagina is more complicated and requires spe- 

 cial and expensive instruments. The mode of procedure in brief is as 

 follows : A speculum is introduced into the vagina and an incision is 

 made into the superior wall of that passage about 2 inches from the 

 neck of the uterus, cutting from below upward and from before back- 

 ward. Make an incision which should not exceed 3£ inches in length. 

 The next step is to get possession of the ovaries. They are situated 

 in a fold of the broad ligament and should be drawn carefully into 

 the vagina through the incision. Now take the long-handled scissors , 

 specially made for this purpose, with which the thick border of the 

 broad ligament is divided. The torsion forceps are introduced and 

 applied to the broad ligament above the ovary. The left hand is then 

 introduced and the thumb and the index finger grasp hold of the 

 broad ligament above the forceps. Now commence with the right 

 hand to apply torsion and thus remove the ovary. The other ovary 

 may be removed in the same manner. 



The operation of castration is by no means a serious one, and when 

 properly performed there is little danger from complications. Although 

 the danger is trifling, the complications which may arise are sometimes 

 of a serious nature. Hemorrhage, either primary or secondary, teta- 

 nus, or lockjaw, abscesses, hernia, or rupture, gangrene, and peritonitis 

 are the most serious complications that follow castration. Whichever 

 complication arises will require its own special treatment, which we 

 will not go into here, as it will be fully dealt with under another head- 

 ing. We would add, however, that, generally speaking, the animal, 

 after being castrated, should either be regularly exercised or be allowed 

 freedom so that it can exercise itself. Drafts of cold air or sudden 

 changes of the temperature are dangerous. The animal should be fed 

 moderately, but of a diet easily digestible. 



Other surgical operations, not described in this chapter, may be 

 found in other parts of this work by reference to the index. 



