TORSION.
In this method of castration the cord is twisted with sufficient force to cause it to break of itself at the point of the greatest violence. Its design is to accomplish the removal of the testicle without dragging or excessive traction upon the cord, and thus to avoid the hemorrhage following the torsion of the spermatic artery, as a mode of hemostasis sufficient to prevent the flow of blood attendant upon the rupture of the cord. The operation may be performed either above or below the epididymis, or may consist simply in the torsion of the artery alone. At first the hands only were called upon to act in the manipulations, and the operation was from this cause known as free torsion, until about fifty years ago, when instruments were introduced into general practice, and gave rise to the plan of limited torsion.