A thousand years of pulmonary medicine: good news and bad.

I should like to start by thanking Professor Gibson and all members of the Programme Committee for asking me to give this Millennial Lecture. I am, of course, greatly honoured at having been chosen for this, a once every one-thousand years event. One of the things Professor Gibson refrained from saying in his overly flattering introduction is that I actually started my medical career back in the first half of the last century, a long time ago. So I have been witness to over 50 years of medical progress – and what a half century it has been! But that is not what I am going to talk about. What I propose to do this morning is, first of all, to discuss briefly some of the remarkable achievements in pulmonary medicine and the men and women who made them during the recently departed millennium. Consequently, I will start my review in the year 1000. Then, I will reflect on the evolution and present deplorable status of two of mankind9s deadliest scourges, both of them chiefly pulmonary disorders, one practically as old as human beings themselves, and the other practically brand new. And finally, I will make some suggestions as to how the members of the societies that are sponsoring this World Congress on Lung Health can help solve a few of the existing problems. May I remind you that as the title of my talk indicates, I bring you both good news and bad news.