Castration

This article is about the practice as applied to humans. For livestock and pets, see Neutering.

Not to be confused with Penis removal or Emasculation.

A 15th century Ottoman medical illustration by Sabuncuoğlu Şerafeddin depicting an operation for castration

Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, that disables the function of testes in males: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes. Some forms of castration cause sterilization (permanently preventing the castrated person or animal from reproducing); it also greatly reduces the production of sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. Surgical castration in animals is often called neutering.

Castration has been used by humans for various types of slavery, such as in the eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire, as well as a terror tactic in warfare. It was incorporated into Chinese law during the Zhou dynasty. In the United States, Thomas Jefferson wrote and proposed a bill in Virginia reducing the punishment for rape, polygamy, or sodomy from death to castration. Although it ultimately failed to pass for free citizens, by Virginia law a slave attempting to rape a White woman could be castrated.

Castration of animals is intended to favor a desired physical development of the animal or of its behavior, or to prevent overpopulation. The parallel of castration for female animals is spaying.

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.