DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
923 
may even grow, through the influence of gravity or injury, to 
immense proportions. In mature working animals they may 
accidentally become strangulated, purulent or serous, and their 
natural tendency is to become more irreducible by partial con¬ 
striction of the orifice. 
Their seriousness must never be underestimated. In an 
inspection for soundness they warrant prompt condemnation, 
even in the youngest animal, as they jeopardize the animal’s 
life by complicating the operation of castration, if not by the 
chances of growing or becoming purulent or strangulated. 
Diagnosis .—Inguinal hernias may exist for years and en¬ 
tirely escape notice. Their presence may be observed for the 
first time when they become strangulated and threaten the ani¬ 
mal’s life, or at the time of castration, when to the surprise of 
the gelder, the intestines protrude as the patient regains his 
feet. Epiplocele (omental hernia) is very common, and it is 
indeed seldom that they are observed until an hour or two after 
castration, when a foot or two of omentum may protrude through 
the scrotal incision. The careful castrator palpates the ingui¬ 
nal region before proceeding with his castrations, and then 
shapes the steps of his operation accordingly, if any suspicious 
tumefaction is evident. As regards the diagnosis of bubon¬ 
ocele, it is safe to state that all non-painful fluctuating tume¬ 
factions in the inguinal canal are hernias. 
Scrotal hernias must, however, be differentiated from vari¬ 
ous other pathological conditions. Hydrocele, sarcocele and 
varicocele, or a combination of these are by no means easy to 
recognize from enterocele. If the hernia is reducible it is read- 
ilv recognized from other tumefactions by the readiness with 
which it disappears and returns on manipulation, but when 
irreducible or partially so palpation is less convincing—in fact, it 
is confusing. The non-painful fluctuating tumors are either 
hernias or hydrocele. The latter presents the characteristic 
fluctuation of fluid, and cannot be made to disappear unless they 
co-exist with reducible hernia. Then the diagnosis is again 
difficult. Varicocele and sarcocele are recognized by their firm¬ 
ness, and by being irreducible. A rectal exploration with one 
hand simultaneously with external palpation with the other fre¬ 
quently serves the useful purpose. The late Prof. Williams 
based his diagnosis on the expansion of the tumor when the an¬ 
imal coughs. To take full advantage of this effort the tumor 
is held gently in one hand, while a second person “coughs” 
the animal. With each cough the tumor will expand, if it is a 
