<Tr> <Th> MeSH </Th> <Td> D012140 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the nerves and muscles of breathing . Respiratory diseases range from mild and self - limiting, such as the common cold, to life - threatening entities like bacterial pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, acute asthma and lung cancer . </P> <P> The study of respiratory disease is known as pulmonology . A doctor who specializes in respiratory disease is known as a pulmonologist, a chest medicine specialist, a respiratory medicine specialist, a respirologist or a thoracic medicine specialist . </P>

Inflammatory lung condition caused by bacteria medical term