Gastro-esophageal reflux is a classical example of a connection between the respiratory and the GI tracts. Pulmonary localizations of inflammatory bowel diseases and intestinal localization of pulmonary vasculitides are also well known as pathologies connecting the lungs and the gut. Generally speaking, to step outside of own field of speciality may allow to gather clues and gain insight into the roots of respiratory dysfunction. Some years ago, the GI specialist Talley (1) described how

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... s with asthma and allergic rhinitis may have abnormally high levels of eosinophils in both the airways and their intestines jointly with respiratory and GI symptoms. An even more challenging hypothesis was made by the research team led by Huffnagle (2) who claimed attention to the gut microbioma as a determinant of lung health. The researchers from the Michigan University intensely scrutinized the "lung-gut axis", the interplay of bugs in the gastro-intestinal tract with the respiratory system, and how it might influence chronic and acute pulmonary diseases. Thanks to the modern molecular analysis is possible a deeper scientific penetration of the microbiome than the traditional culture-based studies. Today, we know that the lungs are not sterile, as believed in the past, allowing the epiglottis a daily microaspiration from the pharynx, mainly during the night even in individual with perfectly normal swallowing function. Moreover, there is a growing awareness that Is there a link between lungs and gut? In bugs there is an answer