Oophorectomy

Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of the ovaries of a female animal. In the case of non-human animals, this is also called spaying. It is a form of sterilization.

The removal of the ovaries together with the Fallopian tubes is called salpingo-oophorectomy. Oophorectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy are not common forms of birth control in humans; more usual is tubal ligation, in which the Fallopian tubes are blocked but the ovaries remain intact.

In humans, oophorectomy is most usually performed together with a hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus. Its use in a hysterectomy when there are no other health problems is somewhat controversial.

In animals, spaying involves an invasive removal of the ovaries, but rarely has major complications; the superstition that it causes weight gain is not based on fact. Spaying is especially important for certain animals that require the ovum to be released at a certain interval (called estrus or "heat"), such as cats and dogs. If the cell is not released during these animal's heat, it can cause severe medical problems that can be averted by spaying or partnering the animal with a male.

Oophorectomy is sometimes referred to as castration, but that term is most often used to mean the removal of a male animal's testicles.

See also


Agribusiness

In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term that refers to the various businesses involved in the food production chain, including farming, agrichemicals , farm machinery, processing, storage, distribution, and retail sales. Depending on its context, the term has two distinctly different connotations, one negative and one neutral.

Within the agricultural industry, agribusiness is widely used simply as the convenient contraction of agriculture and business, referring to the wide range of activities and disciplines encompassed by modern food production. There are university degree s in agribusiness, agribusiness trade group s, agribusiness publications, and so forth, worldwide. Here, the term is only descriptive.

In discussions of agriculture, particularly from a consumer perspective, agribusiness is often used as a negative term, synonymous with corporate farming. As such, it represents large-scale, vertically-integrated food production businesses, seen as the source of a range of undesirable effects on the environment, on food quality, and on society in general.

To date, the two quite opposite usages appear to be coexisting, likely due in part to the fact that popular associations with the term are relatively neutral.

Last updated: 02-07-2005 05:12:11