CASTRATION. 



129 



five days. To prevent the animal from licking the wound the 

 device known as an Elizabethan collar, made of some stiff 

 material such as wood, leather, or tin, is very useful. 



If asepsis has not been properly carried out the best plan is 



Frc. (ill. 



Torsion foi-ceps. 



not to suture but to treat the part as an open wound, anti- 

 septics being freely applied two or three times a day. Exercise 

 is always beneficial, and the prognosis given may in the majority 

 of cases be favourable. The chief precautions to take are : In 



Fig. 70. 

 Elizabetlian collar. 



the dog, to guard against hjemorrhage either at the time or 

 afterwards ; and in the cat, to carefully clip off the hair before 

 making the incisions, to avoid asphyxiating the animal when 

 holding it, and to be careful not to excise the penis by mis- 

 take. When the latter is done death invariably ensues. 



