The World Association for Bronchology (WAB) was founded in 1978 by Dr. Shigeto Ikeda, the man behind the development of the fiberoptic bronchoscope in the late 1960s. The WAB holds a biannual congress, known as the World Congress for Bronchology (WCB) every two years with the sites rotating in the general order of Asia, the Americas, Europe, etc. After the first WCB in 1978 in Tokyo, the second was held in 1980 in D・seldorf, followed by San Diego in 1982, Rome in 1984, Rio de Janeiro in 1986, Tokyo and Kyoto in 1989, Rochester in 1992, M・chen in 1994, Taipei in 1996, Budapest in 1998, Yokohama in 2000, Boston in 2002, and Barcelona in 2004 and the 2006 WCB in Buenos Aires, We are scheduled to have the 2008 WCB in Tokyo, the 2010 WCB in Manheim and the 2012 WCB in Cleveland.

The members of the WAB also receive the Journal of Bronchology, a quarterly journal founded by Dr. Udaya B.S. Prakash and now edited by Dr. Atul C. Mehta. The journal provides a wide range of information on diagnostic and therapeutic bronchoscopy and interventional pulmonology.

One of the attractive features of WCB events is that with the attendance ranging from 600 to 1200, the congresses are not so large as to become impersonal and it is therefore an ideal occasion in which to widen one's circle of acquaintances. Almost everybody in the world who is involved with bronchology attends the WCB at one time or another, if not on a regular basis.

The annual dues we feel are eminently reasonable for the services provided, and the structure of the association is extremely democratic.

As you can see from the list of the venues at which the WCB has been held, we do indeed cover the world and provide an ideal form for the exchange of information in the field of bronchology.

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