membership has almost tripled (1992: 1,117; 2002: 2,063; 2012: 3,093). organization the work of the honorary members of the board of directors and the full-time management has the support of a scientific advisory committee made up of representatives of the leading respiratory organizations in germany and the scientific sections. the work of the 15 scientific sections and 9 working groups that focus on different aspects of respiratory medicine and on professional relationships is crucial for the dpg. in particular the scientific sections reflect the cross-links between respiratory medicine and other medical specialties, highlight key issues within the dgp and serve as forums for scientific exchange, joint research projects and initiatives on dgp policy. the sections, each of which is, as a rule, headed by two spokespersons, offer their members regular postgraduate educational programmes and draw up the guidelines approved and published by the dgp. the following sections have been established since 1994: allergology and immunology endoscopy occupational medicine, epidemiology, environmental and social medicine infectiology and tuberculosis intensive care medicine/ventilatory support cardiorespiratory interaction clinical respiratory medicine sleep medicine paediatric respiratory medicine pathophysiology and aerosol medicine respiratory oncology prevention and rehabilitation thoracic surgery cell biology allied health professionals working group priorities are: 1. graduate and postgraduate training and education in respiratory medicine, 2. the role of quality assurance and drg in respiratory medicine, 3. spiroergometry, 4. women pneumologists, 5. tobacco prevention and cessation, 6. palliative medicine, 7. promoting young doctors and scientists, 8. respiratory therapists, 9. telemedicine in respiratory medicine. publications and recommendations since 1980 the dgp, often in cooperation with other organizations (dal, dzk), has drawn up more than 100 guidelines and recommendations, which are coordinated by a guidelines group formed especially for this purpose. examples of cooperative projects include the so-called 2009 cap guideline and the 2010 guideline "prävention, diagnostik, therapie und nachsorge des lungenkarzinoms" ("prevention, diagnosis, therapy and follow-up of lung cancer"). the "leitlinie zur diagnostik und therapie der idiopathischen lungenfibrose" ("guideline for diagnosis and management of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis") has also appeared in 2013. in addition to position papers and statements on current specific lung-related topics, the dgp publishes recommendations on e.g. "infektionsprävention bei tuberkulose" ("tuberculosis infection control", 2012) and "belastungsuntersuchungen in der pneumologie" ("exercise testing in respiratory medicine", 2013). the dgp was also involved in the publication of the german "lung white book" in 1996; the fourth edition will appear in autumn 2013. deutsche gesellschaft für pneumologie und beatmungsmedizin: 100 jahre dgp – 100 jahre deutsche pneumologie. springer, heidelberg 2010, isbn 978-3-642-11453-3. helmut fabel, nikolaus konietzko (eds.): weißbuch lunge. 3rd ed. thieme, stuttgart/new york 2005, isbn 3-13-104543-4. rudolf ferlinz: die tuberkulose in deutschland. in: nikolaus konietzko (ed.): 100 jahre deutsches zentralkomitee zur bekämpfung der tuberkulose (dzk). der kampf gegen die tuberkulose. pmi-verl.-gruppe, frankfurt/m. 1996, isbn 3-89119-368-8, pp. 9–51. julius-e. kayser-petersen: vorwort. in: verhandlungen der deutschen tuberkulose-gesellschaft. bericht über die 1. tagung am 28. und 29. mai 1926, p. 198. nikolaus konietzko, rainer dierkesmann, robert kropp et al.: rückblick auf die ersten 50 tagungen der deutschen gesellschaft für pneumologie und beatmungsmedizin (dgp). in: pneumologie. 63, 2009, issn 0934-8387, pp. 111–135. nikolaus konietzko (ed.): 100 jahre deutsches zentralkomitee zur bekämpfung der tuberkulose (dzk). der kampf gegen die tuberkulose. pmi-verl.-gruppe, frankfurt/m. 1996, isbn 3-89119-368-8. robert loddenkemper, rainer dierkesmann, nikolaus konietzko, robert kropp, bernhard wiesner, vera seehausen: 100 jahre dgp – 100 jahre deutsche pneumologie. in: pneumologie. band 64, 2010, issn 0934-8387, pp. 7–17. robert loddenkemper: entwicklungen in der dgp: fakten und zahlen. in: pneumologie. 66, 2012, issn 0934-8387, pp. 399–401. k.-f. rabe: the year of the lung – das jubiläumsjahr der dgp. in: pneumologie. 64, 2010, issn 0934-8387, pp. 533–534. w. seeger, t. welte, o. eickelberg, m. mall, k.-f. rabe, b. keller, s. winkler, u. koller: das deutsche zentrum für lungenforschung – translationale forschung für prävention, diagnose und therapie von atemwegserkrankungen. in: pneumologie. 66, 2012, issn 0934-8387, pp. 464–469.