The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is a medical association in the United States consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine. The group was founded in 1935. [1]
Pulmonology, pneumology or pneumonology is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. It is also known as respirology, respiratory medicine, or chest medicine in some countries and areas.
Manuel Dias de Abreu was a Brazilian physician and scientist, the inventor of abreugraphy, a rapid radiography of the lungs for screening tuberculosis. He is considered one of the most important Brazilian physicians, side by side with Carlos Chagas, Vital Brazil and Oswaldo Cruz.
Reactive airway disease (RAD) is an informal label that physicians apply to patients with symptoms similar to those of asthma. An exact definition of the condition does not exist. Individuals who are typically labeled as having RAD generally have a history of wheezing, coughing, dyspnea, and production of sputum that may or may not be caused by asthma. Symptoms may also include, but are not limited to, coughing, shortness of breath, excess mucus in the bronchial tube, swollen mucous membrane in the bronchial tube, and/or hypersensitive bronchial tubes. Physicians most commonly label patients with RAD when they are hesitant about formally diagnosing a patient with asthma, which is most prevalent in the pediatric setting. While some physicians may use RAD and asthma synonymously, there is controversy over this usage.
A vasoactive substance is an endogenous agent or pharmaceutical drug that has the effect of either increasing or decreasing blood pressure and/or heart rate through its vasoactivity, that is, vascular activity. By adjusting vascular compliance and vascular resistance, typically through vasodilation and vasoconstriction, it helps the body's homeostatic mechanisms to keep hemodynamics under control. For example, angiotensin, bradykinin, histamine, nitric oxide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide are important endogenous vasoactive substances. Vasoactive drug therapy is typically used when a patient has the blood pressure and heart rate monitored constantly. The dosage is typically titrated to achieve a desired effect or range of values as determined by competent clinicians.
Chest is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering chest diseases and related issues, including pulmonology, cardiology, thoracic surgery, transplantation, breathing, airway diseases, and emergency medicine. The journal was established in 1935. It is the official journal of the American College of Chest Physicians which publishes the journal. The editor-in-chief is Peter Mazzone.
Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many questions about sleep-wake functioning. The rapidly evolving field has become a recognized medical subspecialty in some countries. Dental sleep medicine also qualifies for board certification in some countries. Properly organized, minimum 12-month, postgraduate training programs are still being defined in the United States. In some countries, the sleep researchers and the physicians who treat patients may be the same people.
Russell Claude Brock, Baron Brock was a leading British chest and heart surgeon and one of the pioneers of modern open-heart surgery. His achievements were recognised by a Knighthood in 1954, a Life Peerage in 1965, and a host of other awards.
Leo Eloesser, a noted thoracic surgeon and volunteer of the Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, was born in San Francisco. He spent his undergraduate years at Berkeley and in 1901 went to Germany to study medicine. He became a pioneer in the field of thoracic surgery and joined the faculty of the Stanford Medical School in 1912. A surgical procedure known as the Eloesser flap is named for him.
Pulmonary rehabilitation, also known as respiratory rehabilitation, is an important part of the management and health maintenance of people with chronic respiratory disease who remain symptomatic or continue to have decreased function despite standard medical treatment. It is a broad therapeutic concept. It is defined by the American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society as an evidence-based, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive intervention for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who are symptomatic and often have decreased daily life activities. In general, pulmonary rehabilitation refers to a series of services that are administered to patients of respiratory disease and their families, typically to attempt to improve the quality of life for the patient. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be carried out in a variety of settings, depending on the patient's needs, and may or may not include pharmacologic intervention.
Dame Margaret Elizabeth Turner-Warwick was a British medical doctor and thoracic specialist. She was the first woman president of the Royal College of Physicians (1989–1992) and, later, chairman of the Royal Devon and Exeter Health Care NHS Trust (1992–1995).
Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) was established when the Canadian Tuberculosis Association, now The Lung Association, recognized the need for a medical association as evidenced by the increase in attendance of both medical and non-medical members at the annual meetings.
Peter John Barnes, FRCP, FCCP, FMedSci, FRS is a British respiratory scientist and clinician, a specialist in the mechanisms and treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He is currently Margeret Turner-Warwick Professor of Thoracic Medicine at the National Heart & Lung Institute, previous head of respiratory medicine at Imperial College and honorary consultant physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital London.
Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, popularly known as the Tambaram TB Sanatorium, is a major state-owned hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state government of Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1928.
Sir Clement Price Thomas was a pioneering Welsh thoracic surgeon most famous for his 1951 operation on King George VI.
Zhong Nanshan is a Chinese pulmonologist. He was president of the Chinese Medical Association from 2005 to 2009 and is currently the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Thoracic Disease. He is a recipient of Medal of the Republic, the highest honour of China.
Sir James Risdon Bennett was an English physician.
John Guyett Scadding was a British physician.
Hugh Morriston Davies was a Welsh thoracic surgeon, the first to perform a dissection lobectomy in the world, and the first to perform a thoracoplasty in the United Kingdom, both firsts achieved in 1912.
Raman Viswanathan (1899–1982) was an Indian chest physician, medical mycologist and pulmonologist, considered by many as the father of Chest Medicine in India. He was the founder director of Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, a postgraduate medical institute based in Delhi. An elected fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of London, Indian National Science Academy and the Academy of Medical Sciences, United Kingdom, he was a recipient of several honors including the Forlanini Medal by Italian Tuberculosis Association and the Eugeno Morelli Prize of the National Academy of Sciences, Italy. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1974, for his contributions to medicine.