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Acute cortisol responses of lambs castrated and docked using rubber rings with or without a castration clamp
Author(s) -
DINNIS AS,
STAFFORD KJ,
MELLOR DJ,
BRUCE RA,
WARD RN
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1997.tb14380.x
Subject(s) - castration , clamp , orchiectomy , anatomy , endocrinology , chemistry , medicine , hormone , engineering , mechanical engineering , clamping
Objective To measure the plasma cortisol response in lambs castrated and docked by three different methods (ring castration and tail docking, ring and clamp castration and tail docking; ring and clamp castration and ring tail docking) for 4 h after treatment. Design A physiological study with controls. Procedure A rubber ring was applied to the scrotum. Then the castration clamp was placed, distal to the ring, on each spermatic cord such that there was no overlap of the crush lines. Results There were no differences in the cortisol secretion of the lambs castrated and tail docked by the ring only and by the ring plus castration clamp methods. Using the castration clamp in addition to the ring on the tail had no effect on cortisol secretion. Conclusions Using the castration clamp did not appear to reduce the cortisol response to ring castration and docking, as demonstrated elsewhere, because the areas of uncrushed tissue between the two castration clamp crush lines allowed nociception from ischemic scrotal tissue to be transmitted cranially via undamaged nerve fibers.