Respiratory physicians are  doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and management of diseases that affect the lung and respiratory tract.

Respiratory physicians manage conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, infections of the respiratory system, lung cancer, pneumothorax and sleep apnoea.

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Classification of Respiratory Conditions

Obstructive Lung Diseases

• Asthma

• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), also known as Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COLD)

Restrictive Lung Diseases

Restrictive lung diseases (also known as interstitial lung diseases) are characterized by loss of lung compliance, hence causing increased lung stiffness and incomplete expansion during respiration.

Examples include Silicosis, Asbestosis, Berylliosis etc.

Respiratory Tract Infections

• Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

- these would include the common cold, sinusitis, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, otitis media etc.

• Lower Respiratory Tract Infections

- these would include bronchitis, pneumonia, empyema, lung abscesses etc.  Infections typically are bacterial (eg. Streptococcus pneumoniae, tuberculosis, mycoplasma),  but may also be caused by viruses and fungi (eg. severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), pneumocystis pneumonia).

Pleural Cavity Diseases

• Pleural effusion

• Pneumothorax and tension pneumothorax

• Emphysema

• Mesothelioma

Respiratory Tumours

• Malignant Respiratory Tumours

- small cell lung cancer

- non-small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinoma, large cell undifferentiated carcinoma)

- lymphoma

- mesothelioma (usually caused by asbestos dust exposure)

- others eg. carcinoid, melanoma, Kaposi's sarcoma

- metastasis (tumour spread) from other primary tumour sites (commonly from breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, renal cell carcinoma)

• Benign Respiratory Tumours

- pulmonary harmatomas and congenital malformations (eg. congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation) are relatively rare.