American Veterinary Review, 
JANUARY, 1881. 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
CASTRATION OF THE CO W. 
PAPER READ BEFORE THE NEW YORK STATE VETERINARY SOCIETY. 
By Hubert T. Foote, D.V.S. 
r 
The technical term applied to castration of the female is ovari¬ 
otomy. Among the laity it is known as spaying. The definition 
of these terms is the extirpation of the essential organs of gener¬ 
ation, which are the ovaries. Before presenting my experiences 
in this operation during the past summer, I will give a cursory 
review of the history of ovariotomy from the time of its origin, 
for which I have referred largely to J. Gourdon’s most excellent 
“Treatise on the Castration of the Domestic Animals.’’ The 
place and epoch of the origin of the operation is unknown. It is 
mentioned in the Jewish book, Talmud, prescribing the castration 
of the female in general, hut, according to Aristotle, Pliny, Galien 
and Elien, the camel and sow were the only animals in which it 
was allowed. 
