Castration is any action, surgical , chemical , or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles : the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy excision of both testicles , while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes.
Castration causes sterilization permanently preventing the castrated person or animal from reproducing ; it also greatly reduces the production of hormones , such as testosterone and estrogen. Surgical castration in animals is often called neutering. Castration of animals is intended to favor a desired development of the animal or of its habits, as an anaphrodisiac or to prevent overpopulation.
The parallel of castration for female animals is spaying. Castration may also refer medically to oophorectomy in female humans and animals.
The term castration may also be sometimes used to refer to emasculation where both the testicles and the penis are removed together. In some cultures, and in some translations, no distinction is made between the two. Castration may have arisen in the Neolithic period in response to animal husbandry, rising populations and population specialisation.
Either surgical removal of both testicles or chemical castration may be carried out in the case of prostate cancer. Surgical removal of one or both testicles known as orchidectomy is the most common treatment for testicular cancer. Castration has also been used in the United States for sex offenders as a way of avoiding incarceration. Involuntary castration appears in the history of warfare, sometimes used by one side to torture or demoralize their enemies.
