Lung function assessment is the central pillar of respiratory diagnosis. Most hospitals have lung function laboratories where patients are tested with a variety of physiological methods. The tests and techniques used are specialized and utilize the expertise of respiratory physicians, physiologists, and technicians. This new edition of the classic text on lung function is a theoretical textbook and practical manual in one that gives a comprehensive account of lung function and its assessment in healthy persons and those with all types of respiratory disorder, against a background of respiratory, exercise, and environmental physiology. It incorporates the technical and methodological recommendations for lung function testing of the American Thoracic Society and European Respiratory Society.