Definition

• An endoscope is a medical device that is long and flexible and has a light and video camera attached. The endoscope is used to view and examine the inside of a person's body. After the endoscope is placed inside the body, images of the inside of the body can be viewed on a screen.
  
  

History

• According to the Medical News Today website, the first endoscope was created in 1805. The first endoscope was similar to the endoscopes used today in that they both have a tube and light feature, however, the first endoscope used a candle instead of an attached light. The changing factor for endoscope came in the 1960s with the development of fiber optics. Because of fiber optics, the device is relatively painless.
  
  

Uses

• An endoscope can be used to assist in various medical procedures such as biopsies and possibly to help find and retrieve foreign objects that have been swallowed. The most common use of an endoscope is with an endoscopy. An endoscopy is an examination of the inside of the body. An endoscopy procedure is minimally invasive.
  
  

Function

• The endoscope is used to diagnose various important medical conditions. Some of the serious conditions that endoscopy has helped diagnose include stomach ulcers, chronic diarrhea, internal bleeding and breathing disorders. Also, the endoscope is heavily used in biopsies to determine causes of death such as cancer.
  
  

Types

• There are several types of endoscope procedures. They include cystoscopy, which is the examination of the urinary bladder; rhinoscopy, which looks at the nose; and colonoscopy, which is one that most people have heard of. A colonoscopy examines the colon. In addition, there is aminoscopy, which examines a fetus, and arthroscopy, the examination of the joints.