It might à priori be believed that in an animal of the latter class the testicle had been completely destroyed, not only from the physical, but from the pathological point of view. This, however, is by no means the case, and Cruzel has described, under the erroneous designation of sarcocele, tumours of the testicle which develop in oxen of various ages.
Moussu has had a similar experience with animals of from four to six years of age which had been carefully operated on.
These tumours, the origin of which is unknown, develop at the expense of the rudiments of the atrophied testicle. They vary in character, and Moussu has only observed tumours of a type different from that of the testicle itself, containing tracts of carcinomatous, sarcomatous, and fibrous tissue. They also appear to vary greatly in gravity, for, although the cases seen by Moussu had become generalised in a few months, Cruzel states that these tumours may remain stationary for several years.
Fig. 239.—Upper surface of the neck of the bladder and origin of the urethra in the ox. 1, Bladder; 2, vesiculæ seminales; 3, vas deferens; 4, principal portion of the prostate gland extending beneath the sphincter; 5, sphincter; 6, aponeurosis of the sphincter, clothing the upper portion of the urethra and the flattened portion of the prostate. (After Barrier.)
The symptoms consist in progressive enlargement of the scrotal region and the appearance of a tumour surrounded by œdematous or lardaceous tissue.
The tumour, which is confined to one side, increases in size, is bosselated and adherent at points to the surface of the skin, while it is insensitive or only slightly painful to the touch.
In a few months it may increase to the size of a child’s head. The animals have difficulty in moving or lying down, the hind limb on the affected side is abducted, and the animal usually lies on its chest and abdomen. The patient rapidly loses flesh, although the appetite remains good.
When the growth is removed, it is easy to prove that the tumour has developed in the atrophied mass of testicular tissue, and that it remains suspended from the end of the cord.
The diagnosis of tumour of the testicle is extremely easy, for the condition cannot be mistaken for a hæmatoma or for a scrotal abscess.