what is castration

Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles, the male gonad. 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 behavior. Castration causes sterilization, preventing the castrated person or animal from reproducing, and it also greatly reduces the production of hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen. In humans, castration has been used for both cultural and medical reasons, such as for testicular cancer. The term castration is sometimes also used to refer to the removal of the ovaries in females, otherwise known as an oophorectomy, or the removal of internal testes, otherwise known as gonadectomy. The equivalent of castration for female animals is spaying.