Pulmonary medicine

Pulmonary medicine is a subspecialty of internal medicine concerned with the study of the respiratory system. It is especially concerned with diagnosis and treatment of diseases and defects of the lungs and bronchial tree, and its practitioners are called pulmonologists.

Diseases commonly addressed by such specialists include complex asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Allergists often consult on these cases.

Sleep medicine, including such disorders as central and obstructive sleep apnea often is a further subspecialization. The apneic disorders involve breathing, so this is a logical extension, other specialists may be needed, including neurology, head and neck surgery, psychiatry, otorhinolaryngology and dentistry.