AMPUTATION OF THE PENIS. 
401 
Contraction of the urethra may be avoided by one of the two following 
methods. 
The first consists in cutting through with the bistoury or thermo¬ 
cautery all the tissues of the penis except the urethra, which, after 
having been carefully dissected out, is divided about three-quarters of 
an inch nearer the free end. This kind of artificial urethral tube is 
afterwards divided vertically and transversely, so as to form four flaps, 
each of which is fixed to the wound surface by means of a suture. 
In the other method, derived from human surgery, where it was first 
practised by Bichet and Bicord, and afterwards skilfully modified by 
M. Cluyon, a reversed V-shaped incision is made immediately above 
the line of amputation, and on the lower surface of the penis, the skin 
Fig. 172.—Amputation of the penis by the elastic ligature. 
being first divided, then the subjacent tissues, the suspensory ligaments, 
corpora cavernosa, and erectile tissue; the urethra is next cut through 
transversely, opposite the base of the V, its inferior surface dissected 
free from all the exposed tissues, the edges of wdiich are afterwards 
sutured to those of the cutaneous wound; lastly, the penis is cut 
through opposite the point where the urethra was divided, and the 
chief vessels closed by means of ligatures or forceps. Or, again, a pre¬ 
ferable method, so far as checking haemorrhage is concerned, consists 
in applying an elastic ligature opposite the base of the wound, and 
amputating the penis an inch or so below. 
The procedure is as follows :— 
The animal having been cast on the left side, the right hind limb 
is lifted, carried forward, and fixed to the corresponding forearm, as in 
castration ; the penis is disinfected, together with the posterior abdominal 
and scrotal regions. 
v.s. 
D D 
