ABSTRACT
It is impossible to understand adult lung disease unless one clearly understands the developmental and childhood events that impact on the fully grown human organism. To this end, we begin by briefly outlining the relationship of symptoms to lung function and present a model for growth and decline of lung function throughout the life cycle. Then, we progress through
each stage of human development (early childhood, later childhood and adolescence, and early adulthood and late adult life) and discuss the impact of various environmental factors and clinical conditions that impact on asthma as a disease. We conclude with a discussion of the relationship of asthma to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
