260 



VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



carry. A rational supposition in this connection is that the 

 small weight of an undeveloped testicle delays its descent 

 until the internal inguinal ring has closed, and in the case of 

 the "high flanker" variety, until the tunica vaginalis is too 

 firmly developed to respond to the weight of the testicle. 

 Debilitating diseases, exposure, overwork and poor quality 

 of food during the period of gestation are prolific in the pro- 

 duction of cryptorchid young. 



The testicles of cryptorchids are found floating within 

 the abdominal cavity (intra-abdominal cryptorchid), within. 



Fig. 130— iDtra-Abdominal Cryptorchidism (Farmer Miles' No. 3). (Bayer.) 



the inguinal canal (extra- abdominal cryptorchid), or caught 

 trap-like by the epididymis in the internal inguinal ring 

 (intra-inguinal cryptorchid). 



i. Intra-adbominal cryptorchidism may be unilateral or 

 bilateral, usually the former. The testicle is small, unde- 

 veloped, and its secretion is sterile. It will develop to the 

 normal size, or even larger, after the opposing testicle is re- 

 moved by castration, but its secretion remains sterile 

 through life. It is only on the rarest occasions that the bi- 

 lateral ridgling or the half-castrated proves able to procreate. 



In the process of growth and an effort to perform the 



