Respiratory medicine is the specialty which deals with any problem with the lungs.

The commonest conditions referred to Dr Johnson include:

• Chronic cough
• Breathlessness
• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (previously known as chronic bronchitis and emphysema)
• Lung infections
• Acute and chronic bronchitis
• Emphysema
• Tuberculosis
• Sarcoidosis
• Lung fibrosis
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis - Cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis - Usual interstitial pneumonia
• Bronchiectasis
• Lung cancer (diagnosis)
• Pulmonary embolism
• Pneumonia
• Pneumothorax

A large amount of excellent information can be obtained from the website of the British Thoracic Society and the British Lung Foundation and NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence).

There are UK guidelines for the standard management of these conditions, and information leaflets, downloadable free from these useful websites.