European Respiratory Society

The European Respiratory Society (ERS) is a nonprofit professional organization serving medical professionals, researchers, and other specialists working in respiratory medicine. Established in 1990, it was created through the merger of the Societas Europaea Physiologiae Clinicae Respiratoriae, founded in 1966, and the European Society of Pneumology, founded in 1981. The merger brought together existing European traditions in respiratory physiology, pulmonology, clinical care, and scientific exchange under a single society. ERS operates internationally, with offices in Lausanne, Brussels, and Sheffield. Its work is centered on improving lung health and reducing the burden of respiratory disease. The society connects clinicians and scientists, supports the dissemination of respiratory research, provides educational resources, and contributes to the development of professional standards. Although its institutional base is European, its scientific publications, congresses, educational programs, and policy-oriented work address respiratory health globally. A major part of the ERS identity is its publishing program. The society produces peer-reviewed journals, educational periodicals, book series, handbooks, reports, and occasional projects. The European Respiratory Journal is a monthly scientific journal indexed in Medline. European Respiratory Review provides quarterly state-of-the-art reviews, updates, editorials, and correspondence covering current issues in respiratory medicine, science, and surgery. ERJ Open Research, launched in 2015, extends the society's journal portfolio into open-access research publishing. Breathe is a clinically focused quarterly educational journal intended to support learning and professional development. The ERS Monograph is a quarterly specialist book series in which each volume examines a defined area of respiratory medicine in depth, while ERS Handbooks provide concise but broad textbook-style coverage of major respiratory topics. The society also convenes educational events, including a large annual congress that brings together respiratory clinicians, researchers, and allied professionals. These activities give ERS a role in continuing education and in the exchange of clinical and scientific knowledge across national boundaries. Its stated mission is to promote lung health, alleviate suffering caused by respiratory disease, and advance standards in respiratory medicine worldwide. ERS has also pursued public-facing and patient-oriented work. In 2000 it established the European Lung Foundation (ELF), an organization intended to connect patients and the public with respiratory professionals and to support better lung health. Through this relationship, the broader ERS ecosystem reaches beyond specialist audiences into public information, patient engagement, and awareness of respiratory disease. The organization has produced or supported wider assessments of respiratory health, including editions of the European Lung White Book, the European Respiratory Roadmap, Air Quality and Health, the European COPD Audit Report, and reports on global respiratory health issued on behalf of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies. Some publications and commercial information products, such as the ERS Buyers' Guide to Respiratory Care Products, are no longer published. Overall, ERS functions less as a consumer-facing brand than as a professional and scientific institution whose reputation is built on specialist publishing, congresses, education, research communication, and advocacy for lung health.

The European Respiratory Society was formed in 1990 through the merger of two predecessor organizations in European respiratory medicine. The older of the two, the Societas Europaea Physiologiae Clinicae Respiratoriae, had been established in 1966 and represented a tradition focused on respiratory physiology and clinical science. The European Society of Pneumology was founded later, in 1981, with a stronger emphasis on pneumology and the clinical organization of respiratory medicine. Their combination created a broader professional society capable of representing respiratory clinicians, scientists, and related specialists across Europe. From its foundation, ERS developed as a membership and knowledge institution rather than as a commercial company. Its principal activities have included scientific publishing, professional education, congress organization, and the dissemination of information about respiratory disease. The society's annual congress became a major forum for presenting research, discussing clinical practice, and supporting continuing education among respiratory professionals. Its international orientation also enabled collaboration across national respiratory societies and helped connect European work with global respiratory-health initiatives. Publishing has remained central to the society's development. ERS produces the European Respiratory Journal, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific publication indexed in Medline, alongside the quarterly European Respiratory Review. The latter focuses on authoritative reviews, updates, editorials, and correspondence addressing contemporary questions in respiratory medicine, respiratory science, and surgery. The society expanded its publishing activity with Breathe, a clinically oriented educational journal, and with the ERS Monograph, a quarterly series of in-depth books edited by leaders in particular fields. ERS Handbooks complement these publications by presenting broad areas of respiratory medicine in concise textbook form. In 2015, ERS launched ERJ Open Research, adding an open-access research journal to its portfolio. This move broadened the channels through which respiratory research could be made available to readers and reflected the society's continuing role in scientific communication. ERS has also published reports and reference works addressing the burden and management of respiratory disease. These have included editions of the European Lung White Book, the European Respiratory Roadmap, Air Quality and Health, the European COPD Audit Report, and reports on global respiratory health prepared on behalf of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies. The society has also published a range of books and one-off projects, while some earlier offerings, such as the ERS Buyers' Guide to Respiratory Care Products, have been discontinued. A significant institutional development occurred in 2000, when ERS founded the European Lung Foundation. ELF was created to bring patients and the public into closer contact with respiratory professionals and to promote better lung health. This extended ERS's reach beyond specialist membership and scientific audiences toward patient information, public engagement, and broader awareness of respiratory disease. ERS maintains offices in Lausanne, Brussels, and Sheffield. Its activities continue to combine professional networking, scientific publishing, education, congresses, and lung-health advocacy. The organization describes its purpose in terms of reducing suffering from respiratory disease and raising standards in respiratory medicine globally. Its historical trajectory is therefore one of consolidation: it began by uniting predecessor European societies, expanded its publishing and educational infrastructure, created a public-facing foundation, and developed into an international respiratory-health institution.

• 2015

  ERJ Open Research launched

  [1]European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org

  ERS launched ERJ Open Research as an open-access research journal in respiratory medicine.

• 2000

  European Lung Foundation founded

  [1]European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org

  ERS founded the European Lung Foundation to connect patients and the public with respiratory professionals and support improved lung health.

• 1990

  European Respiratory Society established

  [1]European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The two predecessor organizations merged to create the European Respiratory Society, a professional society for respiratory medicine.

• 1981

  European Society of Pneumology founded

  [1]European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The European Society of Pneumology was founded as the second major predecessor of the later European Respiratory Society.

• 1966

  Formation of a predecessor society

  [1]European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Societas Europaea Physiologiae Clinicae Respiratoriae, one of the organizations that later formed ERS, was established.

A European-based international professional society for respiratory medicine, positioned at the intersection of clinical practice, biomedical research, specialist education, scientific publishing, and public lung-health engagement.

• Peer-reviewed scientific journal

  European Respiratory Journal

  A monthly peer-reviewed journal covering respiratory medicine and related scientific research. It is indexed in Medline and serves as one of ERS's principal channels for communicating original research and developments in the field.

• Scientific review journal

  European Respiratory Review

  A quarterly publication focused on state-of-the-art reviews, updates, editorials, and correspondence. Its subject coverage includes respiratory medicine, respiratory science, surgery, and topical issues relevant to the specialty.

• Open-access research journal · 2015

  ERJ Open Research

  An open-access respiratory research journal launched by ERS in 2015. It extends the society's scientific publishing program by providing an additional route for dissemination of respiratory research.

• Clinical education journal

  Breathe

  A quarterly, clinically focused educational journal designed to support learning and professional development in respiratory medicine. It complements ERS's more research-oriented journals with practical and educational material.

• Specialist book series

  ERS Monograph

  A quarterly book series in which each volume concentrates on a particular area of respiratory medicine. Volumes are guest edited by specialists and provide detailed treatment of selected clinical and scientific subjects.

• Medical textbooks

  ERS Handbooks

  A series of textbooks intended to cover major areas of respiratory medicine in a concise but comprehensive format. The range includes subject-specific titles and a self-assessment book.

• Respiratory health report

  European Lung White Book

  A major ERS reference publication surveying the impact of respiratory disease across Europe. The society has published two editions as part of its work to document respiratory-health needs and trends.

• Professional education event

  Annual ERS Congress

  ERS's large annual congress brings together respiratory clinicians, scientists, and other professionals for research presentation, specialist education, and discussion of clinical and public-health priorities.

1. 1European Respiratory Societyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2European Respiratory Society official websiteersnet.org