CASTRATION, in surgery, the operation of gelding. It was prohibited by a decree of the senate of Rome under Hadrian; and the Cornelian law subjected the person who performed the operation, to the same penalties as the person on whom it was performed, although it was done with his consent.
Castration is much in use in Asia and Turkey, where it is practised upon the slaves, to prevent any commerce with their women. In Italy, castration is frequent from another motive, namely, to preserve the voice for singing*. See Eu-much.
Castration is sometimes found necessary in surgical cases, as in a sarcocoele and cancer of the testicles.