298 Surgical Diseases and Surgery of the Dog 



in the female, owing to dilation of the inguinal canal. The intestine 

 then protrudes into the subcutaneous tissue carrying a fold of peri- 

 toneum before it. In scrotal hernia the sac is formed by the pro- 

 cessus vaginalis, and the contents, consisting usually of intestine, 

 rarely of omentum, protrude as far as, and rest in contact with, 

 the testicle. Under normal conditions the caliber of the processus 

 vaginalis formed by the descent of the testis becomes much re- 

 duced at its upper extremity after passage of the gland, but never 

 becomes entirely obliterated. If this contraction fails to take place 

 the neck of the pouch in the vicinity of the internal ring presents 

 an abnormal opening continuous with the peritoneal cavity thus 

 forming a ready avenue for escape of visceral organs. 



Symptoms and Diagnosis. In the inguinal form the swelling 

 is formed between the penis and abdominal wall, while in the scrotal 

 form it exists as a very thick sausage-shaped tumor along the course 

 of the spermatic cord. 



Treatment. Inguinal hernia is treated as in the female. Scro- 

 tal hernia necessitates some slight modification of technic. Opera- 

 tive measures consist in cutting down on the swelling in the groin 

 over the inguinal canal, opening the processus vaginalis, returning 

 the protruding organs, and suturing the dilated inguinal ring, as in 

 the female, at the same time allowing sufficient room for the 

 spermatic cord and vessels, which are left intact. Some writers 

 seem to regard it essential to remove the testes at the same time, 

 but there is no reason why they should not be retained, their pre- 

 servation being a matter of paramount importance in valuable stud 

 animals. Griffiths has demonstrated by experiments and obser- 

 vations on artificial and natural mono- and crypt-orchids that testis 

 may be manipulated without injury to itself or the structures of the 

 cord. In one instance he resected the cremasteric muscle and the 

 parts healed entirely. Barnard suggested an alternative method 

 by which the testis and cord are separated from the surrounding 

 structures and placed within the abdominal cavity outside the peri- 

 toneum. The tunica vaginalis is removed and the inguinal canal 

 completely closed by suture. Of course the object in preserving 

 the gland in this manner was the maintenance of the procreative 

 faculty. But Griffiths has proved that the full-grown testicle, when 

 so replaced, undergoes a degenerate change and loses its power of 

 spermatogenesis, so that no object would be obtained by this pro- 

 cedure. 



