| Description: |
| An allergist-immunologist is a certified internist or pediatrician expert in the evaluation, physical and laboratory diagnosis, and management of disorders potentially involving the immune system. Selected examples of such conditions include asthma, anaphylaxis, rhinitis, eczema, urticaria, and adverse reactions to drugs, foods, and insect stings, as well as immune deficiency diseases (both acquired and congenital), defects in host defense, and problems related to autoimmune disease, organ transplantation, or malignancies of the immune system. The scope of this specialty is ever-widening as our understanding of the immune system develops. Selected experts may receive special certification in "Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology" after additional training in the various laboratory procedures required to analyze both the function and malfunction of the immune system. |