the calculi by manipulation of the papilla on the end of the penis. This
failing, the calculus may be seized with a pair of fine-pointed forceps
and withdrawn from the urethra; or, if necessary, a probe-pointed knife
may be inserted and the urethra slightly dilated, or even laid open, and
the stone removed. If the stone has been arrested higher up it must be
extracted by a direct incision through the walls of the urethra and down
upon the nodule. If in the free (protractile) portion of the penis,
that organ is to be withdrawn from its sheath until the nodule is
exposed and can be incised. If behind the scrotum, the incision must be
made in the median line between the thighs and directly over the nodule,
the skin having been rendered tense by the fingers and thumb of the left
hand. If the stone has been arrested in the intrapelvic portion of the
urethra, the incision must be made beneath the anus and the calculus
extracted with forceps, as in stone in the bladder. The wound in the
urethra may be stitched up, and usually heals slowly but satisfactorily.
Healing will be favored by washing two or three times daily with a
solution of a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a pint of water.
_Preputial calculus (calculus in the sheath, or bilocular
cavity)._--These are concretions in the sheath, though the term has been
also applied to the nodule of sebaceous matter which accumulates in the
blind pouches (bilocular cavity) by the sides of the papilla on the end
of the penis. Within the sheath the concretion may be a soft,
cheesy-like sebaceous matter, or a genuine calculus of carbonate,
oxalate, phosphate and sulphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, and
organic matter. These are easily removed with the fingers, after which
the sheath should be washed out with castile soap and warm water and
smeared with sweet oil.
DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
By JAMES LAW, F. R. C. V. S.,
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University.
CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE TESTICLES, OR ORCHITIS.
In the prime of life, in vigorous health, and on stimulating feed,
stallions are subject to congestion of the testicles, which become
swollen, hot, and tender, but without any active inflammation. A
reduction of the grain in the feed, the administration of 1 or 2 ounces
of Glauber's salt daily in the feed, and the bathing of the affected
organs daily with tepid water or alum water will usually restore them to
a healthy condition.
When the factors producing congestion are extraordinarily potent, when
there has been frequent copulation and heavy grain feeding, when the
weather is warm and the animal has had little exercise, and when the
proximity of other horses or mares excites the generative instinct
without gratification, this congestion may grow to actual inflammation.
Among the other causes of orchitis are blows and penetrating wounds
implicating the testicles, abrasions of the scrotum by a chain or rope
passing inside the thigh, contusions and frictions on the gland under
rapid paces or heavy draft, compression of the blood vessels of the
spermatic cord by the inguinal ring under the same circumstances, and,
finally, sympathetic disturbance in cases of disease of the kidneys,
bladder, or urethra. Stimulants of the generative functions, like rue,
savin, tansy, cantharides, and damiana, may also be accessory causes of
congestion and inflammation. Finally, certain specific diseases, like
dourine, glanders, and tuberculosis, localized in the testicles, will
cause inflammation.
_Symptoms._--Apart from actual wounds of the parts, the symptoms of
orchitis are swelling, heat, and tenderness of the testicles, straddling
with the hind legs alike in standing and walking, stiffness and dragging
of the hind limbs or of the limb on the affected side, arching of the
loins, abdominal pain, manifested by glancing back at the flank, more or
less fever, elevated body temperature, accelerated pulse and breathing,
lack of appetite, and dullness. In bad cases the scanty urine may be
reddish and the swelling may extend to the skin and envelopes of the
testicle, which may become thickened and doughy, pitting on pressure.
The swelling may be so much greater in the convoluted excretory duct
along the upper border of the testicle as to suggest the presence of a
second stone. Even in the more violent attacks the intense suffering
abates somewhat on the second or third day. If it lasts longer, it is
liable to give rise to the formation of matter (abscess). In exceptional
cases the testicle is struck with gangrene, or death. Improvement may go
on slowly to complete recovery, or the malady may subside into a
subacute and chronic form with induration. Matter (abscess) may be
recognized by the presence of a soft spot, where pressure with two
fingers will detect fluctuation from one to the other. When there is
liquid exudation into the scrotum, or sac, fluctuation may also be felt,
but the liquid can be made out to be around the testicle and can be
pressed up into the abdomen through the inguinal canal. When abscess
occurs in the cord the matter may escape into the scrotal sac and cavity
of the abdomen and pyemia may follow.
_Treatment_ consists in perfect rest and quietude, the administration of
a purgative (1 to 1-1/2 pounds Glauber's salt), and the local
application of an astringent lotion (acetate of lead 2 drams, extract of
belladonna 2 drams, and water 1 quart) upon soft rags or cotton wool,
kept in contact with the part by a suspensory bandage. This bandage, of
great value for support, may be made nearly triangular and tied to a
girth around the loins and to the upper part of the same surcingle by
two bands carried backward and upward between the thighs. In severe
cases scarifications one-fourth inch deep serve to relieve vascular
tension. When abscess is threatened its formation may be favored by warm
fomentations or poultices, and on the occurrence of fluctuation the
knife may be used to give free escape to the pus. The resulting cavity
may be injected daily with a weak carbolic-acid lotion, or salol may be
introduced. The same agents may be used on a gland threatened with
gangrene, but its prompt removal by castration is to be preferred,
antiseptics being applied freely to the resulting cavity.
SARCOCELE.
This is an enlarged and indurated condition of the gland, resulting from
chronic inflammation, though it is often associated with a specific
deposit, like glanders. In this condition the natural structure of the
gland has given place to embryonal tissue (small, round cells, with a
few fibrous bundles), and its restoration to health is very improbable.
Apart from active inflammation, it may increase very slowly. The
diseased testicle is enlarged, firm, nonelastic, and comparatively
insensible. The skin of the scrotum is tense, and it may be edematous
(pitting on pressure), as are the deeper envelopes and spermatic cord.
If liquid is present in the sac, the symptoms are masked somewhat. As it
increases it causes awkward, straddling, dragging movement of the hind
limbs, or lameness on the affected side. The spermatic cord often
increases at the same time with the testicle, and the inguinal ring
being thereby stretched and enlarged, a portion of intestine may escape
into the sac, complicating the disease with hernia.
The only rational and effective treatment is castration, and when the
disease is specific (glanders, tuberculosis), even this may not succeed.
HYDROCELE, OR DROPSY OF THE SCROTUM.
This may be merely an accompaniment of dropsy of the abdomen, the cavity
of which is continuous with that of the scrotum in horses. It may be the
result, however, of local disease in the testicle, spermatic cord, or
walls of the sac.
_Symptoms._--The symptoms are enlargement of the scrotum, and
fluctuation under the fingers, the testicle being recognized as floating
in water. By pressure the liquid is forced, in a slow stream and with a
perceptible thrill, into the abdomen. Sometimes the cord or the scrotum
is thickened and pits on pressure.
_Treatment_ may be the same as for ascites, yet when the effusion has
resulted from inflammation of the testicle or cord, astringent
applications (chalk and vinegar) may be applied to these. Then, if the
liquid is not reabsorbed under diuretics and tonics, it may be drawn off
through the nozzle of a hypodermic syringe which has been first passed
through carbolic acid. In geldings it is best to dissect out the sacs.
VARICOCELE.
This is an enlargement of the venous network of the spermatic cord, and
gives rise to general thickening of the cord from the testicle up to the
ring. The same astringent dressings may be tried as in hydrocele, and,
this failing, castration may be resorted to.
ABNORMAL NUMBER OF TESTICLES.
Sometimes one or both testicles are wanting; in most such cases,
however, they are merely partially developed, and retained in the
inguinal canal or abdomen (cryptorchid). In rare cases there may be a
third testicle, the animal becoming to this extent a double monster.
Teeth, hair, and other indications of a second fetus have likewise been
found in the testicle or scrotum.
DEGENERATION OF THE TESTICLES.
The testicles may become the seat of fibrous, calcareous, fatty,
cartilaginous, or cystic degeneration, for all which the appropriate
treatment is castration. They also become the seat of cancer, glanders,
or tuberculosis, and castration is requisite, though with less hope of
arresting the disease. Finally, they may become infested with cystic
tapeworms or the agamic stage of a strongyle (_Strongylus edentatus_).
WARTS ON THE PENIS.
These are best removed by twisting them off, using the thumb and
forefinger. They may also be cut off with scissors and the roots
cauterized with nitrate of silver.
DEGENERATION OF PENIS (PAPILLOMA, OR EPITHELIOMA).
The penis of the horse is subject to great cauliflower-like growths on
its free end, which extend back into the substance of the organ,
obstruct the passage of urine, and cause very fetid discharges. The only
resort is to cut them off, together with whatever portion of the penis
has become diseased and indurated. The operation, which should be
performed by a veterinary surgeon, consists in cutting through the organ
from its upper to its lower aspect, twisting or tying the two dorsal
arteries, and leaving the urethra longer by half an inch to 1 inch than
the adjacent structures.
EXTRAVASATION OF BLOOD IN THE PENIS.
As the result of kicks, blows, or of forcible striking of the penis on
the thighs of the mare which it has failed to enter, the penis may
become the seat of effusion of blood from one or more ruptured blood
vessels. This gives rise to a more or less extensive swelling on one or
more sides, followed by some heat and inflammation, and on recovery a
serious curving of the organ. The treatment in the early stages may be
the application of lotions, of alum, or other astringents, to limit the
effusion and favor absorption. The penis should be suspended in a sling.
PARALYSIS OF THE PENIS.
This results from blows and other injuries, and also in some cases from
too frequent and exhausting service. The penis hangs from the sheath,
flaccid, pendulous, and often cold. The passage of urine occurs with
lessened force, and especially without the final jets. In cases of local
injury the inflammation should first be subdued by astringent and
emollient lotions, and in all cases the system should be invigorated by
nourishing diet, while 30-grain doses of nux vomica are given twice a
day. Finally, a weak current of electricity sent through the penis from
just beneath the anus to the free portion of the penis, continued for 10
or 15 minutes and repeated daily, may prove successful.
SELF-ABUSE, OR MASTURBATION.
Some stallions acquire this vicious habit, stimulating the sexual
instinct to the discharge of semen by rubbing the penis against the
belly or between the fore limbs. The only remedy is a mechanical one,
the fixing of a net under the penis in such fashion as to prevent the
extension of the penis or so prick the organ as to compel the animal to
desist through pain.
DOURINE.
This disease is discussed in the chapter on "Infectious Diseases."
CASTRATION.
CASTRATION OF STALLIONS.
This is usually done at 1 year old, but may be accomplished at a few
weeks old at the expense of an imperfect development of the fore parts.
The simplicity and safety of the operation are greatest in the young.
The delay till 2, 3, or 4 years old will secure a better development and
carriage of the fore parts. The essential part of castration is the safe
removal or destruction of the testicle and the arrest or prevention of
bleeding from the spermatic artery round in the anterior part of the
cord. Into the many methods of accomplishing this limited space forbids
us to enter here, so that only the method most commonly adopted,
castration by clamps, will be noticed. The animal having been thrown on
his left side, and the right hind foot drawn up on the shoulder, the
exposed scrotum, penis, and sheath are washed with soap and water, any
concretion of sebum being carefully removed from the bilocular cavity in
the end of the penis. The left spermatic cord, just above the testicle,
is now seized in the left hand, so as to render the skin tense over the
stone, and the right hand, armed with the knife, makes an incision from
before backward, about three-fourths of an inch from and parallel to the
median line between the thighs, deep enough to expose the testicle and
long enough to allow that organ to start out through the skin. At the
moment of making this incision the left hand must grasp the cord very
firmly, otherwise the sudden retraction of the testicle by the cremaster
muscle may draw it out of the hand and upward through the canal and even
into the abdomen. In a few seconds, when the struggle and retraction
have ceased, the knife is inserted through the cord, between its
anterior and posterior portions, and the latter, the one which the
muscle retracts, is cut completely through. The testicle will now hang
limp, and there is no longer any tendency to retraction. It should be
pulled down until it will no longer hang loose below the wound and the
clamps applied around the still attached portion of the cord, close up
to the skin. The clamps, which may be made of any tough wood, are
grooved along the center of the surfaces opposed to each other, thereby
fulfilling two important indications--(a) enabling the clamps to hold
more securely and (b) providing for the application of an antiseptic
to the cord. For this purpose a dram of sulphate of copper may be mixed
with an ounce of vaseline and pressed into the groove in the face of
each clamp. In applying the clamp over the cord it should be drawn so
close with pincers as to press out all blood from the compressed cord
and destroy its vitality, and the cord applied upon the compressing
clamps should be so hard-twined that it will not stretch later and
slacken the hold. When the clamp has been fixed the testicle is cut off
one-half to 1 inch below it, and the clamp may be left thus for 24
hours; then, by cutting the cord around one end of the clamp, the latter
may be opened and the stump liberated without any danger of bleeding.
Should the stump hang out of the wound it should be pushed inside with
the finger and left there. The wound should begin to discharge white
matter on the second day in hot weather or the third in cold, and from
that time a good recovery may be expected.
The young horse suffers less from castration than the old, and very
rarely perishes. Good health in the subject is all important. Castration
should never be attempted during the prevalence of strangles, influenza,
catarrhal fever, contagious pleurisy, bronchitis, pneumonia, purpura
hemorrhagica, or other specific disease, nor on subjects that have been
kept in close, ill-ventilated, filthy buildings, where the system is
liable to have been charged with putrid bacteria or other products. Warm
weather is to be preferred to cold, but the fly time should be avoided
or the flies kept at a distance by the application of a watery solution
of tar, carbolic acid, or camphor to the wound.
CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCHIDS (RIDGLINGS).
This is the removal of a testicle or testicles that have failed to
descend into the scrotum, but have been detained in the inguinal canal
or inside the abdomen. The manipulation requires an accurate anatomical
knowledge of the parts, and special skill, experience, and manual
dexterity, and can not be made clear to the unprofessional mind in a
short description. It consists, however, in the discovery and removal of
the missing gland by exploring through the natural channel (the inguinal
canal), or, in case it is absent, through the inguinal ring or through
an artificial opening made in front and above that channel between the
abdominal muscles and the strong fascia on the inner side of the thigh
(Poupart's ligament). Whatever method is used, the skin, hands, and
instruments should be rendered aseptic with a solution of mercuric
chlorid 1 part, water 2,000 parts (a carbolic-acid lotion for the
instruments), and the spermatic cord is best torn through by the
ecraseur. In many such cases, too, it is desirable to sew up the
external wound and keep the animal still, to favor healing of the wound
by adhesion.
CONDITIONS FOLLOWING CASTRATION.
_Pain after castration._--Some horses are pained and very restless for
several hours after castration, and this may extend to cramps of the
bowels and violent colic. This is best kept in check by carefully
rubbing the patient dry when he rises from the operation, and then
leading him in hand for some time. If the pain still persists a dose of
laudanum (1 ounce for an adult) may be given.
_Bleeding after castration._--Bleeding from the wound in the scrotum and
from the little artery in the posterior portion of the spermatic cord
always occurs, and in warm weather may appear to be quite free. It
scarcely ever lasts, however, more than 15 minutes, and is easily
checked by dashing cold water against the part.
Bleeding from the spermatic artery in the anterior part of the cord may
be dangerous when due precaution has not been taken to prevent it. In
such case the stump of the cord should be sought for and the artery
twisted with artery forceps or tied with a silk thread. If the stump can
not be found, pledgets of tow wet with tincture of muriate of iron may
be stuffed into the canal to favor the formation of clot and the closure
of the artery.
_Strangulated spermatic cord._--If in castration the cord is left too
long, so as to hang out of the wound, the skin wound in contracting
grasps and strangles it, preventing the free return of blood and causing
a steadily advancing swelling. In addition the cord becomes adherent to
the lips of the wound in the skin, whence it derives an increased supply
of blood, and is thereby stimulated to more rapid swelling. The subject
walks stiffly, with a straddling gait, loses appetite, and has a rapid
pulse and high fever. Examination of the wound discloses the partial
closure of the skin wound and the protrusion, from its lips, of the end
of the cord, red, tense, and varying in size from a hazelnut upward. If
there is no material swell and little protrusion, the wound may be
enlarged with the knife and the end of the cord broken loose from any
connection with the skin and pushed up inside. If the swelling is
larger, the mass constitutes a tumor and must be removed. (See below.)
_Swelling of the sheath, penis, and abdomen._--This occurs in certain
unhealthy states of the system, in unhealthful seasons, as the result of
operating without cleansing the sheath and penis, or of keeping the
subject in a filthy, impure building, as the result of infecting the
wound by hands or instruments bearing septic bacteria, or as the result
of premature closure of the wound, and imprisonment of matter.
Pure air and cleanliness of groin and wound are to be obtained.
Antiseptics, like the mercuric-chlorid lotion (1 part to 2,000) are to
be applied to the parts; the wound, if closed, is to be opened anew, any
accumulated matter or blood washed out, and the antiseptic liquid freely
applied. The most tense or dependent parts of the swelling in sheath or
penis, or beneath the belly, should be pricked at intervals of 3 or 4
inches to a depth of half an inch, and antiseptics freely applied to the
surface. Fomentations with warm water may also be used to favor oozing
from the incisions and to encourage the formation of white matter in the
original wounds, which must not be allowed to close again at once. A
free, creamlike discharge implies a healthy action in the sore, and is
the precursor of recovery.
_Phymosis and paraphymosis._--In cases of swelling, as above, the penis
may be imprisoned within the sheath (phymosis) or protruded and swollen
so that it can not be retracted into it (paraphymosis). In these cases
the treatment indicated above, and especially the scarifications, will
prove a useful preliminary resort. The use of astringent lotions is
always desirable, and in case of the protruded penis the application of
an elastic or simple linen bandage, so as to press the blood and
accumulated fluid out, will enable the operator to return it.
_Tumors on the spermatic cord._--These are due to rough handling or
dragging upon the cord in castration, to strangulation of unduly long
cords in the external wound, to adhesion of the end of the cord to the
skin, to inflammation of the cord succeeding exposure to cold or wet, or
to the presence of infection (_Staphylococcus botriomyces_). These
tumors give rise to a stiff, straddling gait, and may be felt as hard
masses in the groin connected above with the cord. They may continue to
grow slowly for many years until they reach a weight of 15 or 20 pounds,
and contract adhesions to all surrounding parts. If disconnected from
the skin and inguinal canal they may be removed in the same manner as
the testicle, while if larger and firmly adherent to the skin and
surrounding parts generally, they must be carefully dissected from the
parts, the arteries being tied as they are reached and the cord finally
torn through with an ecraseur. When the cord has become swollen and
indurated up into the abdomen such removal is impossible, though a
partial destruction of the mass may still be attempted by passing
white-hot, pointed irons upward toward the inguinal ring in the center
of the thickened and indurated cord.
CASTRATION BY THE COVERED OPERATION.
This is only required in case of hernia or protrusion of bowels or
omentum into the sac of the scrotum, and consists in the return of the
hernia and the application of the caustic clamps over the cord and inner
walls of the inguinal canal, so that the walls of the latter become
adherent above the clamps, the canal is obliterated, and further
protrusion is hindered. For the full description of this and of the
operation for hernia for geldings, see remarks on hernia.
CASTRATION OF THE MARE.