What about the spleen? Is this conisdered to be a treifah also or not? If it is, the list would increase by one. Why is this not mentioned in the discussion of things that make it a Treifah.
Thank you,
Jeff Milrad
The spleen is unusual in Tereifos in that the absence of a spleen does not render an animal a Tereifah, whereas a hole in the spleen does render the animal a Tereifah (see Shulchan Aruch Y.D. 50:2). This is why it is not a standard Tereifah. Chulin Illuminated (pg. 144) quotes Dr.J.L. Kazenelson as explaining that whereas a missing spleen is not life threatening even in humans, a hole in the spleen can cause tremendous complication, as the spleen contains large amounts of blood which would leave the hole and fill the abdominal cavity.
All the best,
Yaakov Montrose