Claim: Respiratory disease can be classified.

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 .   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 .   Respiratory diseases can be classified in many different ways , including by the organ or tissue involved , by the type and pattern of associated signs and symptoms , or by the cause of the disease .