The rapid growth of knowledge of basic scientific principles and their application to respiratory medicine has resulted in a proliferation of monographs and texts dealing with selected aspects of pulmonary science and clinical medicine, but no single work has provided a comprehensive description of all that is currently known. The Textbook of Respiratory Medicine is an attempt to provide a well-balanced, authoritative, and fully documented book that integrates scientific principles with the practice of respiratory medicine. The text is sufficiently detailed and referenced to serve as the definitive source for interested students, house officers, and practitioners, both pulmonary specialists and generalists. It is written by leading experts, to guarantee that the material is authoritative and contemporary.

To deal with such an enormous amount of material, we have divided the book into three major sections. This organization should help guide interested readers from the intricacies of basic science to their application at the bedside. We begin in Part I with Scientific Principles of Respiratory Medicine. As implied, this is where the reader will find detailed information about the anatomy and development of the respiratory tract, respiratory physiology, pharmacology and pathology, and defense mechanisms and immunology. A strong foundation in these basic sciences will make possible a rational and scientific approach to the more specialized clinical material included in the subsequent sections. Part II, Manifestations and Diagnosis of Respiratory Disease, contains four chapters on the cardinal signs and symptoms of respiratory disorders and ten chapters on diagnostic evaluation, ranging from the history and physical examination to the newest and most sophisticated imaging, applied physiologic, and invasive techniques. Discrete clinical disorders are included in Part III, Clinical Respiratory Medicine. There are sections on Infectious Diseases, Obstructive Diseases, Neoplasms, Disorders of the Pulmonary Circulation, Infiltrative and Interstitial Diseases, Environmental and Occupational Disorders, Disorders of the Pleura, Disorders of the Mediastinum, Disorders in the Control of Breathing, Respiratory Manifestations of Extrapulmonary Disorders, and Respiratory Failure. All but one of the sections dealing with a generic clinical problem begin with a chapter entitled “General Principles and Diagnostic Approach.” New challenges to adult respiratory medicine have sprung up, and these are reflected in chapters on subjects such as cystic fibrosis (previously a disease only of childhood!), environmental and occupational diseases, disorders of breathing, and respiratory problems associated with unusual atmospheres (high altitude, diving). The book ends with a novel and important section on Prevention and Control.

Putting together a Textbook of this scope and magnitude is no easy task and involves making certain decisions that all readers may not agree with. For example, while trying to keep the length of the book as manageable as possible, we decided to permit some overlap of content. Thus, readers will find bronchodilators discussed in the chapter on airway pharmacology and again in the pertinent chapters on obstructive airway diseases. We have also welcomed differences of opinion among authors, provided the issues were clearly stated and the reasons for the author’s position documented.

Our struggles were not as arduous as they might have been because we have had considerable help from many sources. First of all was the help from the 95 authors, who worked long and hard on their various contributions. The two editors worked in San Francisco, where they had the benefit of expert secretarial support from Ms. Dorothy Ladd and Mrs. Beth Cost. Special acknowledgment goes to Ms. Aja Lipavsky who, as editorial assistant, handled correspondence, proofing, permissions, and innumerable other details, and prepared the index. At W.B. Saunders in Philadelphia, the book was the brainchild of then-president John Hanley and was published with the guidance of J. Dereck Jeffers, William Lamsback, and the new president Lewis Reines. Production was supervised by Evelyn Weiman.

The long gestation of this book is over, parturition is near, and it will soon begin a life of its own. Like all expectant parents, we are concerned about how our offspring will make its way in the real world. We hope people will like it and find it useful.

© 2010  Elsevier Inc. Tous droits réservés.

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