The Pulmonary and Critical Care Unit of the Department of Medicine provides comprehensive clinical care for the full range of pulmonary problems in both an inpatient and outpatient basis.

Clinical interests of physicians include:

• respiratory control
  
• cystic fibrosis
  
• interstitial lung disease
  
• occupational and environmental lung disease
  
• pulmonary vascular disease
  
• pulmonary hypertension
  
• acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
  
• asthma
  
• sleep apnea
  
• sarcoidosis
  
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  
• acute lung injury
  
• pulmonary embolism
  
• pulmonary rehabilitation

The unit provides a 24-hour Pulmonary Inpatient Consultation Service staffed by an attending physician and fellows who are accessible to all hospital departments.

Special tests and procedures available include:

• bronchoscopy
  
• sputum induction
  
• methacholine challenge testing
  
• pulmonary function assessment
  
• right heart catheterization
  
• exercise stress testing

Multidisciplinary team members include 4 chest radiologists, 4 lung surgeons, a lung pathologist, 2 lung oncologists, and a radiation oncologist.

The Unit maintains both clinical and basic science research laboratories at MGH.

Major areas of research include:

• lung cellular and molecular biology
  
• pulmonary hypertension
  
• acute lung injury
  
• pulmonary embolism
  
• epidemiology of lung cancer
  
• pulmonary immunology
  
• occupational and environmental lung disease

There are 35 clinical and research fellows in the Unit's training programs. The Unit, in conjunction with Harvard Medical School, offers an annual postgraduate course in pulmonary and critical care medicine as well as other MGH and HMS-sponsored postgraduate courses.