ORIGINAL: mez

Motown. The lungs are not connected to the thoracic wall. They are held next to the wall by surface tension. The only way they are connected is if the deer has had some sort of thoracic disease and or insult and scar tissue forms between the lung and chest wall.

The lungs are in a confined space and everthing moves in concert. They never lose contact with the body wall unless there is fluid or air within the chest cavity.