xxix Preface Eight years ago, the ERS School started a very ambitious project to harmonise education in respiratory medicine for European specialists (HERMES). A preliminary survey among 29 European countries showed considerable variation in postgraduate training. Based on these findings, the ERS School developed a range of consensus documents: a core syllabus describing the competencies required, a curriculum of recommendations indicating how competencies should be taught and learned, an accreditation methodology for training centres, and a voluntary European examination to assess whether specialists have acquired the knowledge-based component of competence. The Handbook, together with a vast array of educational material, such as lectures, articles published in Breathe and the European Respiratory Monograph, and other lectures and courses, all available on the ERS School website, together comprise an unrivalled educational resource for anyone preparing for the European Examination in Adult Respiratory Medicine. The first edition of the ERS Handbook of Respiratory Medicine was published in 2010 with the aim of providing state-of-the-art summaries in all areas of respiratory medicine. This second edition of the Handbook has been extensively peer review and revisited, and includes new sections on • cytology of the lung • HRCT of the chest • long-term ventilation • opportunistic infections in the immunocompromised host • the pharmacology of asthma and COPD • HRCT in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease • pathology and molecular biology of lung cancer • palliative care The Handbook is a comprehensive, easily accessible source of the essentials of respiratory medicine for senior medical staff requiring revalidation, and nursing and allied healthcare professionals at all levels who wish to keep their knowledge up to date. All readers can be assured that as they set sail to manage patients across the spectrum of respiratory disorders, they are armed with the best information, access to multiple-choice questions to check their knowledge, and a source guide for more in-depth study. We are particularly indebted to the ERS School Committee, the ERS Publications Office who curated the entire contents of the Handbook, and all the contributors. Paolo Palange, Anita K. Simonds Chief Editors ‘To study the phenomenon of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.’ ‘Too many men slip early out of the habit of studious reading, and yet that is essential.’ William Osler