CONCLUDING REMARKS. 45 



Exploration of each inguinal canal will go a long way towards 

 solving the difficulty, as, if the testis has ever been in the 

 scrotum since the days the animal was a foal, and has been 

 removed, the end. of the spermatic cord will, be felt as a long 

 thin body varying in size from a piece of string to the piece of 

 an ordinary casting rope. If nothing is to be discovered sub- 

 cutaneously or in either canal, and the history is that of 

 a "rig," the probability is that there is a testicle in the 

 abdominal cavity. Rectal exploration is sometimes of assist- 

 ance, the iingers being turned downwards towards the 

 inguinal region, whilst an assistant pushes his fingers as far 

 up the inguinal canal as possible from the exterior. Either 

 the cord or a testicle may be felt upon manipulation. This 

 can, in a quiet horse, be done when standing, but, of course, 

 when cast and secured the facilities are greater. To examine 

 the inguinal canal from the exterior the hand is held ilat and 

 pressed, with the fingers closed, between the thigh and the 

 abdominal wall. If the operator has had his hand and arm in 

 the rectum this should be thoroughly scrubbed and disinfected, 

 and the other hand used for the search ; also for anything con- 

 nected with the wound if the operation is performed on that 

 day. It is safer to postpone the operation. To ensure success 

 the strictest care in regard to antiseptics and surgical clean- 

 liness is as essential to our patients as to those of our human 

 confreres. 



