as the abdominal ring,
where the elastic feeling of the intestines was distinctly perceptible.
There was not more than half an ounce of blood lost. The raw surface
was dressed, the gap in the perineum brought together, and the patient
made complete recovery, with preservation of his sexual powers. Other
cases of injuries to the external genital organs (self-inflicted) will
be found in the next chapter.

The preservation of the sexual power after injuries of this kind is not
uncommon. There is a case reported of a man whose testicles were
completely torn away, and the perineal urethra so much injured that
micturition took place through the wound. After a tedious process the
wound healed and the man was discharged, but he returned in ten days
with gonorrhea, stating that he had neither lost sexual desire nor
power of satisfaction. Robbins mentions a man of thirty-eight who, in
1874, had his left testicle removed. In the following year his right
testicle became affected and was also removed. The patient stated that
since the removal of the second gland he had regular sexual desire and
coitus, apparently not differing from that in which he indulged before
castration. For a few months previous to the time of report the cord on
the left side, which had not been completely extirpated, became
extremely painful and was also removed.

Atrophy of the testicle may follow venereal excess, and according to
Larrey, deep wounds of the neck may produce the same result, with the
loss of the features of virility. Guthrie mentions a case of
spontaneous absorption of the testicle. According to Larrey, on the
return of the French Army from the Egyptian expedition the soldiers
complained of atrophy and disappearance of the testicle, without any
venereal affection. The testicle would lose its sensibility, become
soft, and gradually diminish in size. One testicle at a time was
attacked, and when both were involved the patient was deprived of the
power of procreation, of which he was apprised by the lack of desire
and laxity of the penis. In this peculiar condition the general health
seemed to fail, and the subjects occasionally became mentally deranged.
Atrophy of the testicles has been known to follow an attack of mumps.

In his description of the diseases of Barbadoes Hendy mentions several
peculiar cases under his observation in which the scrotum sloughed,
leaving the testicles denuded. Alix and Richter mention a singular
modification of