The respiratory tract is directly open to the outside environment and is easily affected by external changes. Primary respiratory diseases are responsible for a major burden of morbidity and untimely death, and the lungs are often affected in multisystem diseases.

This course aims at offering students a general overview of the Respiratory System and diseases affecting it in the following aspects: (1) the gross anatomy of the respiratory tract from the nose to the lung alveoli; (2) the physiology of ventilation and gas exchange; (3) pathological changes and pathophysiology in the airway and lungs; (4) clinical manifestations of respiratory disorders; (5) history taking and physical examination of the respiratory system; (6) investigative methods of the respiratory system; (7) overview of common diseases of the respiratory system: infection, upper and lower respiratory tract, pulmonary tuberculosis, obstructive airway diseases, neoplastic diseases, pulmonary vascular diseases, pneumoconiosis, interstitial lung diseases, diseases of pleura and mediastinum, diseases of nasal pharynx, larynx and trachea; and (8) study of clinical cases.