Castration

Removal of the sex organs. In psychological terms, the fantasized loss of the genitals. Also used metaphorically to denote a state of impotence, powerlessness, helplessness, or defeat.

The surgical removal of the gonads.

The surgical removal of the sexual organs, usually the testicles, in males.

Surgical removal of the testes or ovaries, usually done to inhibit hormone secretion in cases of breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men. Bilateral castration produces sterility.

Surgical removal of the testicles in a man or the ovaries in a woman; most often performed as part of cancer surgery. Castration may be used in the treatment of some breast and prostate cancers since estrogen stimulates the growth of some breast cancers and testosterone stimulates the growth of prostate cancer.

Removal of the sex glands (the testes or the ovaries). Castration in childhood causes failure of sexual development but when done in adult life (usually as part of hormonal treatment for cancer) it produces less marked physical changes in both sexes. Castration inevitably causes sterility but it need not cause impotence or loss of sexual desire.

This is literally defined as ‘deprivation of the power of generation’. In practical terms this involves surgical removal of both ovaries, or both testicles. Such an operation is most commonly associated with the treatment of malignant lesions. In women who have reached the menopause, bilateral oophorectomy is routinely performed during hysterectomy, especially in cases of uterine carcinoma, and is usually performed when removing an ovarian tumour or malignant cyst. It is essential that the surgeon discuss with a woman before an operation when it might prove beneficial to remove her ovaries in addition to carrying out the main procedure. In men, orchidectomy is routine for testicular tumours, and is sometimes carried out when treating prostatic cancer.

Castration refers to the surgical procedure of removing the testes, which are the male reproductive organs. Additionally, the term “castration” is occasionally used to describe the removal of the ovaries, which are the female reproductive organs.

Castration is a procedure conducted when the testes or ovaries suffer from diseases. It can also be performed to decrease the concentration of testosterone (a hormone primarily produced in the testes in males) or estrogen (a hormone primarily produced in the ovaries in females) in individuals with specific types of cancer that are influenced by these hormones.

Since the advent of gonadorelin analogues, which are medications that also function to diminish the production of testosterone and estrogen within the body, orchidectomy and oophorectomy have become less commonly performed procedures.