2,552. A Lung That Falls Apart

Hilchos Shechita 7:12

If a lung deteriorates, the animal from which it came is a treifa. For example, if the lung was found intact but when hung it falls apart into pieces. If a lung was found to be punctured where the butcher handled it, the animal remains permitted because we assume that the hole was made by his hand after the animal was slaughtered. If the hole was found elsewhere and we don’t know whether it was made before or after the animal was slaughtered, we make another hole and compare them, just as we do in the case of digestive organs.

Hilchos Shechita 7:13

We don’t compare the lung of a small animal to that of a large animal; a small animal’s lung must be compared with another small animal’s and a large animal’s lung must be compared with another large animal’s. If a hole is found in one of a lung’s pustules, the animal’s a treifa; we don’t say to puncture another pustule and to compare the holes because doing so would not be decisive.