Pneumonologist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases of the lungs and respiratory system
2. A physician trained to care for patients with disorders affecting the lungs, airways and breathing
3. A specialist in the medical field concerned with conditions of the chest, lungs and pulmonary tract

Etymology: "Pneumonologist" is an alternative form of "pneumologist," a specialist in diseases of the lungs and respiratory system. The name is built from two Greek elements: "pneumon," meaning lung, and "-logia," meaning the study or discourse of something, which gives "pneumology" as the field itself. The English suffix "-ist" then turns the field into a person who practises it. The surprise lies in the spelling. The form with the extra "o" is the older-looking one, and it sits awkwardly with the Greek, since "pneumon" contributes only the first part of "pneumono-" in the medical term "pneumonia." Because "pneumonia" already names an inflammation of the lungs, a doctor of the lungs could easily be confused with a doctor of pneumonia. That confusion is one reason the shorter "pneumologist" has become the more common choice in modern medical writing.

Synonyms: pulmonologist, chest specialist