The office of the ambulatory clinicians of the veterinary clinic at Iowa State College received a call on Jan. 21, 1950, from the college swine herdsman concerning the castration of five mature herd boars. The following equipment was prepared:1. Large, flat, stainless steel pan 2. Bard-Parker handle and hooked blades 3. Emasculator 4. Hard twist manila rope, 1/2 in. x 12 ft. 5. Large turkish towel 6. Chloroform, three 1/4 lb. bottle

Cowles, R. J.

English

The office of the ambulatory clinicians of the veterinary clinic at Iowa State College received a call on Jan. 21, 1950, from the college swine herdsman concerning the castration of five mature herd boars. The following equipment was prepared:1. Large, flat, stainless steel pan 2. Bard-Parker handle and hooked blades 3. Emasculator 4. Hard twist manila rope, 1/2 in. x 12 ft. 5. Large turkish towel 6. Chloroform, three 1/4 lb. bottles</p

Cowles, R.

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

fering with the blood clotting mechanism. Or the liver may have been previously damaged to the extent that it was not forming and storing other clotting fac-tors, viz., prothrombin, and vitamin K. The enteritis and the otitis media, al-though definitely pathological, were minor lesions compared to those mentioned above. Bacteriological cultures from the liver and kidney proved negative. This case well illustrates the import-ance of the following: 1. Not spaying bitches in heat. If the owner insists, be sure he realizes the possible consequences. 2. Securely placed ligatures 3. Thorough physical examination of the patient before surgery. (Unfortu-nately, this is neither practical nor economical in every case.) Donald A. Fuller. '50 Chloroform Anesthesia in the Castration of Boars. The office of the ambulatory clinicians of the veterina-ry clinic at Iowa State College received a call on Jan. 21, 1950, from the col-lege swine herdsman concerning the cas-tration of five mature herd boars. The following equipment was prepared: 1. Large, flat, stainless steel pan 2. Bard-Parker handle and hooked blades 3. Emasculator 4. Hard twist manila rope, 1f2 in. x 12 ft. 5. Large turkish towel 6. Chloroform, three % lb. bottles Each boar was crowded with a panel, and a running noose slipped over his up-per jaw. The rope was then snubbed around a stout post and the boar pulled up until he had about 18 in. of play in the rope. The towel was wrapped (single layer) about his snout and over his nos-trils, and then secured with a single wrap of baling wire. Approximately 1 f1. oz. (1116 lb.) of chloroform was applied to the towel over the nostrils, and the anesthetist stepped back. Each boar very rapidly entered the delirious stage and threw his head back 94 and forth in a pendulous motion at the rope's end. This action was violent, dan-gerous, observed in all five boars, but was of short duration. As soon as this violence ended the anesthetist again started to apply chloroform to the towel over the nostrils, but slowly, while ob-serving the depth of anesthesia. In gen-eral, another fl. oz. (1/16 lb.) was so used, making a total of approximately 2 fl. oz. (1/8 lb.) for each boar. As each boar lost consciousness, he sagged back against the rope and was finally pushed to his left side. The rope was quickly removed from the snubbing post and hitched to the right (upper) rear leg at the level of the hock. The leg was drawn up and forward out of the field of operation, exposing the scrotum. The scrotum was brushed as clean as possible, but no liquid antiseptic was ap-plied. The surgeon stood with his left foot and leg against the boar's rump and haunch, his right foot and leg back out of possible danger. The primary incisions were made parallel to the median raphe Df the scrotum, and about 1/2 to 1 in. from it. The incision was free, through the skin and tunica dartos, and extended far €noue-h forward to insure good drain-age, 'but was not through the tunica vaginalis. The scrotal fat and fascia was broken down manually, freeing the testi-cle enclosed in the tunica vaginalis, ex-cept for the anterior and posterior attach-ments (spermatic cord and guberna-culum testis). The gubernaculum testis was ruptured with manual traction, and the spermatic cord withdrawn as far as possible and freed of all clinging tissue. The emasculator was set about the cord as close to the body wall as practical, and the testicle, with its tunica vaginalis, removed. The emasculator was left in place for a few seconds, then removed and the stump observed for excessive hemorrhage. The scrotum was then ex-amined for any blind tissue pockets, which were incised. The primary incis-ions were extended forward, until they nearly met on the abdominal midline, to insure adequate drainage. The baling wire and towel were re-Iowa State College Veterinarian moved as soon as the castration was complete, the rope was then removed and the stag allowed to remain quiet. In all but one instance the stag was on his feet immediately, although still showing in-coordination. The one stag that failed to immediately arise was larger and more obese than Clny of the other four, but he was on his feet before the next castration was completed. The apparent disadvantages of chloro-form anesthesia in castration of boars are as follows: 1. Increased cost 2. Increased time ( questionable) 3. Increased risk (questionable) The advantages are as follows: 1. Increased humanity 2. Increased professional appearance 3. Increased exact technique 4. Increased control of patient 5. Decreased travail of restraint. R. J. C()wles, '5Q 171 Habitual Bloat in a Bull. A 2-year-old Angus bull was referred to Stange Memorial Clinic on Dec. 24, 1949, with a history of having been bloat-ed for the past six days. He had been un-successfully treated on the farm with mineral oil and antiferments. For the next two weeks, the bull was treated daily with one or more of the following: carminatives, ruminatorics, rumen transplants and antiferments in-cluding the newly developed methyl sil-icone compound. In the meantime, his condition was studied in attempt to learn the cause. Medicinal treatment was com-pletely unsuccessful since it was neces-sary to relieve the bloat almost daily, and sometimes twice daily, by means of the stomach tube. Following relief of the bloat, rumen motility always returned to normal. Laboratory examination of the blood showed no significant changes, but a liver function test indicated that there was some reduction in functional capacity. The urine was of a very low specific gravity-l.001 as compared to a normal Spring, 1950 of about 1.030. It was also acid in reaction having a pH 6 instead of the usual alk-aline pH 8 of normal bovine urine. A bacterial culture of the urine yielded Proteus species which may have been con taminan ts. The Kingman tube was readily passed indicating that there was no marked stricture or other obstruction in the eso-phagus. Rectal palpation indicated a slight enlargement of the left kidney with an abnormal softening near the hilus. Since nothing definite could be de-termined by the above means, an explor-atory laparotomy and rumenotomy was indicated. After the laparotomy incision was made, the peritoneal cavity was manually explored. It was noted that the liver seemed enlarged and displaced to the left, and that the left kidney was en-larged and somewhat softened. A rumen-otomy was performed immediately. Four pieces of baling wire were found free in the reticulum, but none could be found penetrating other organs through the reticular wall. After the operation, the bull was given 1 million O.v. of procaine penicillin in oil and wax intramuscularly followed by 50 Gm. of sulfanilamide daily for five days as a prophylactic treat-ment. Recovery from the operation was uneventful, but the bloat continued. Since it was presumed that the en-larged liver interfered with regurgitation and eructation, the bull was discharged with the recommendation that he be slaughtered since nothing further could be done for him. The bull was slaughtered Jan. 23, 1950. At the abattoir, time did not permit a careful autopsy, but there were mult-iple abscesses throughout the liver with extensive adhesions to the diaphragm .. Both kidneys showed multiple abscesses with more extensive involvement of the left kidney. Further discussion of the case with the owner indicated that while the bull was in moderately good condition upon enter-ing the clinic, he had never been a nor-mally thrifty individual. It is quite prob-able that the infection causing the absces-ses had been acquired as a calf and had 95 

Chloroform Anesthesia in the Castration of Boars

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Chloroform Anesthesia in the Castration of Boars

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