The Origin of the Term Ridgeling *

The biological term ridgeling is of uncertain derivation.' The word has been applied to various domestic animals; most commonly it refers to a male which has been "half castrated," i.e., has had only one testis removed, the other gonad being cryptorchid and relatively inaccessible to the operator. For reasons to be explained, such animals are useless and are often unmanageable and vicious. Normally, the testis, which develops embryologically near the kidney, descends toward the end of fetal life or in the first year after birth into the pelvis, leaves the body cavity via the inguinal canal, and comes to rest in the scrotum. In cryptorchidism, a not uncommon condition,' the testis does not complete this journey, and may not even enter the inguinal canal. It appears from a search of the literature that removal of cryptorchid testes from animals was seldom attempted until relatively recently; lack of surgical skill and the hazard of infection deterred the farmer or stock breeder who could perform a simple castration.7 10' 8440 The ridgeling horse or sheep or dog, having lost his normal testis but retaining an abnormally located gonad, develops atypically. He is sterile, for cryptorchid testes seldom if ever produce sperm; hence he is worthless for breeding. He develops the sex drive of the uncastrated adult male, since the cryptorchid testis retains at least some of its endocrine function. The ridgeling may become unmanageable or even vicious,'0-' "' "' 6 partly because cryptorchidism may be painful." Less frequently, the term ridgeling described a cryptorchid animal which had not been castrated."8' ''' 27 8 "8c5 Such beasts were also of little or no value; if unilaterally cryptorchid, they were fertile but were not bred, as it was feared that the anomaly might be inherited;' animals retaining both testes in the abdomen or inguinal canal were sterile anyway. In both cases, the behavior would not be that of the docile castrate but of the normal, aggressive male, and the animal might be savage as well.'0''"" Small wonder that the unfortunate ridgeling was very unpopular indeed.