BRAXY. 



437 



a forward direction, implicating the other stomachs, or backward, in- 

 vading the small or both small and large intestines. The other parts of 

 the intestinal canal are congested. The pleural and peritoneal cavities 

 contain a little serous fluid. The blood is dark in colour, but may be 

 clotted ; the spleen is at times somewhat swollen, at others normal. The 

 liver is usually light-coloured, soft, and degenerated ; occasionally this 

 degenerative process is extremely marked, but due allowance should 

 always be made for post-mortem change. The kidneys may appear 

 degenerated ; in many cases they are enlarged and soft, or almost fluid 



Fig. 205. — The shaded areas of the above map indicate the distribution of braxy. 



in consistence. The carcase decomposes very rapidly; within a short 

 time of death the belly is distended with gas, the rectum protrudes at 

 the anus; the skin assumes a bluish colour in places, and the wool falls 

 out ; sometimes the skin bursts, revealing the presence in the sub- 

 cutaneous tissue of a sero-haemorrhagic fluid. 



Braxy is, then, a primary violent hsemorrhagic inflammation of the 

 abomasum, with or without secondary general infection. 



From careful study it seems quite certain that the Scottish " braxy 

 is identical with the Norwegian and Icelandic " bradsot " ; it appears at 



