European Respiratory Society
Lung Function Testing

Although diagnosis always begins with a careful history and physical examination and a physician is obligated to consider more than the diseased organ, testing of lung function has become standard practice to confirm the diagnosis, evaluate the severity of respiratory impairment, assess the therapy response and follow-up patients with various cardio-respiratory disorders. Ventilation, diffusion, blood flow and control of breathing are the major components of respiration and one or more of these functional components can be affected by any disorder. Frequently, no single pulmonary function test yields all the information in an individual patient and multiple tests have to be combined to allow proper evaluation. The pulmonary function laboratory is therefore very important in pulmonary medicine to provide accurate and timely results of lung function tests. This issue of the European Respiratory Monograph not only offers the reader a state-of-the-art approach to pulmonary function testing, but also contributes significantly to a better understanding of the pathophysiological processes underlying various diseases and contributing to the morbidity of patients.

Bibliographic Information

Title: 
Lung Function Testing
Edited by: 
  • R. Gosselink
  • H. Stam
Published: 
2005-04-01
DOI: 
10.1183/1025448x.erm3105
ISBN electronic: 
978-1-904097-89-1
Series: 
European Respiratory Society Monographs