Endoscope Medical Device

An endoscope is a medical device or instrument used to visually examine the interior of a body canal or hollow organ, such as the colon, bladder, stomach, rectum or urethra. It is generally a long slender tube or hose-like medical instrument with a light or camera attached to the end.

The endoscope is used mainly for diagnosis or biopsy functions, sometimes for therapeutic functions or performing surgery. Some of the symptoms that bring a patient to this type of examination include bleeding, unexplained pain, difficulty with swallowing, or a change in bowel habits. Typically, the scope is inserted through a natural opening, such as the mouth (for a bronchoscopy), the rectum (for a sigmoidoscopy), or the vagina (for a cystoscopy). However, some areas of the body, such as joints or the bladder require small incisions to be made to insert the endoscope.

Flexible endoscopes are also known as fiber optic scopes. The light at the end of the unit is consists of hundreds of tiny light-transmitting glass fibers which are bundled tightly together (think of a spider's eyes!). There are endoscope medical devices available to examine every orifice in the human body, plus models that can be used by veterinarians on horses, cows, dogs, cats, and most any kind of animal in need of internal medical diagnosis!

Some commonly used and well trusted brands of endoscopes include Olympus, Pentax, and Fujinon. Other types of endoscopes not mentioned above include gastroscope, colonoscope, duodenoscope, laryngoscope, urethroscope, and hysteroscope.