420 
A TREATISE ON INGUINAL HERN1.T:> 
it is an occurrence extremely rare in this country; which is pro*' 
bably explicable by our practice of emasculation. When adhe¬ 
sions are found, it becomes necessary to open the sac and destroy 
them, before the reduction can be accomplished : in which case 
the clams must afterwards, in^ course, be placed upon the bare 
chord. 
In g;encral, chronic hernia gives us all the necessary time to decide on 
the operation, and to prepare the animal, by regimen or previous bleeding, 
to undergo it: herniotomy only becomes urgent when the descent is com¬ 
plicated with stoppage and strangulation. 
In regard to medical and domestic treatment after the opera¬ 
tion, the veterinarian must be guided by circumstances, which his 
own good sense will enable him better to estimate than any direc¬ 
tions that can be laid down. Some cases will require blood-letting, 
injections, and purges; all will demand warmth, quietude, and a 
rigid confinement to a fluid or some readily digestible diet. It is 
also of consequence that the animal be so placed that he stands 
with his croup raised. 
In the cases which M. Girard has published in confirmation of 
what is above advanced, it appears that it is usual to take off the 
testicle after the application of the clams, but to leave the clams 
themselves on until they (in consequence of the shrinking they 
produce) spontaneously lose their hold : in one instance curved 
clams were found preferable ; by turning their convexities towards 
the ring, the pressure became more efficacious. In one case, the 
animal was no sooner turned upon his back, than the intestinal 
mass within the scrotum entirely withdrew into the abdomen, and 
dragged along with it the testicle, which organ the operator after¬ 
wards sought in vain. The consequence was, that it became ne- 
cessaiy to release the animal, and suffer him to rise up and walk 
about for a time, in order to bring down the hernia afresh. This 
shows the utility of the practice (occasionally instituted) of seizing 
hold of the testicle immediately the horse is cast, and retaining it 
until he is turned and prepared for the operation, at which time 
the assistant takes it. M. Lenguenard, to whom this accident 
occurred, calculates that about one-fourth of the Norman colts are 
foaled with hernia; but that in most of them it disappears in the 
course of growth. 
One of these cases, in particular, calls for especial notice, not less 
on account of danger to the operator, than of the digressions 
he found it advisable to make in the course of the operation. The 
hernia was not only chronic, but was veiy large, and the subject 
of it advanced in years. Professor Verrier was the opemtor, and 
was assisted on the important occasion by his colleagues and a 
great number of pupils. 
