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Castration |
Also found in: Medical, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.07 sec. |
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castration, removal of the sex glands of an animal, i.e., testes in the male, or ovaries and often the uterus in the female. Castration of the female animal is commonly referred to as spaying. Castration results in sterility, decreased sexual desire, and inhibition of secondary sex characteristics. It is performed for the purpose of improving the quality of meat and decreasing the aggressiveness of farm animals; in pet animals it prevents unwanted mating behavior, reproduction, and wandering. Removal of the sex glands in humans is sometimes necessary to prevent the spread of certain hormone-dependent cancers cancer, in medicine, common term for neoplasms, or tumors, that are malignant. Like benign tumors, malignant tumors do not respond to body mechanisms that limit cell growth. ..... Click the link for more information. . Castration as a punishment or deterrent for repeat sexual offenders is a topic debated both because of questions regarding its efficacy and because of questions regarding the relative rights of offenders and their victims or potential victims. castrationor neuteringRemoval of the testes. The procedure stops most production of the hormone testosterone. If done before puberty, it prevents the development of functioning adult sex organs. Castration after sexual maturity makes the sex organs shrink and stop functioning, ending sperm formation and sexual interest and behaviour. Livestock and pets are castrated to keep them from reproducing (see sterilization) or to create a more docile animal. In humans, castration has been used for both cultural (see eunuch, castrato) and medical (e.g., for testicular cancer) reasons. Castration Abélard, Peter castrated by irate father of lover, Héloise. [Fr. Lit.: Héloise and Abélard] castrated journalist whom Brett Ashley loves. [Am. Lit.: The Sun Also Rises] hermaphroditic goddess honored orgiastically, usually by emasculation. [Phrygian Myth.: Parrinder, 68] |
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| That council found the self-castration of certain aesthetic monks disturbing and worked to prevent them from entering the Church hierarchy. Part of my own motivation as a scientist is that I hope, by helping to understand the workings of the world, I may do a bit to free humanity from the burden of superstition that demands needless sacrifices--from the self-castration of the priests of Cybele to the suicidal terrorism of today. An absent father, the need for escape, the insecurity of narcissism, the impulse to masochism and self-castration - all are shaping influences if we look carefully at how modern actors describe their experiences. |
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