The Endoscopy

With the procedure known as gastrointestinal endoscopy, a doctor is able to see the inside lining of your digestive tract. This examination is performed using an endoscope-a flexible fiberoptic tube with a tiny TV camera at the end. The camera is connected to either an eyepiece for direct viewing or a video screen that displays the images on a color TV. The endoscope not only allows diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) disease but treatment as well.

• Current endoscopes are derived from a primitive system created in 1806-a tiny tube with a mirror and a wax candle. Although crude, this early instrument allowed a first view into a living body.
• The GI endoscopy procedure may be performed on either an outpatient or inpatient basis. Through the endoscope, a doctor can evaluate several problems, such as ulcers or muscle spasms. These concerns are not always seen on other imaging tests.
• Endoscopy has several names, depending on which portion of your digestive tract your doctor seeks to inspect.
  • Colonoscopy: This procedure enables the doctor to see ulcers, inflamed mucous lining of your intestine, abnormal growths and bleeding in your colon, or large bowel.
  • Enteroscopy: Enteroscopy is a recent diagnostic tool that allows a doctor to see your small bowel. The procedure may be used in the following ways:
    • To diagnose and treat hidden GI bleeding
    • To detect the cause for malabsorption
    • To confirm problems of the small bowel seen on an X-ray
    • During surgery, to locate and remove sores with little damage to healthy tissue
• Doctors do have other diagnostic tests besides GI endoscopy, including echography to study the upper abdomen and a barium enema and other x-ray exams that outline the digestive tract. Doctors can study the stomach juices, stools, and blood to learn about GI functions. But none of these tests offers a direct vision of the mucous lining of the digestive tube.
• Endoscopy has little value for people with the following conditions:
  • Severe coronary artery disease and acute or recent heart attack
  • Uncontrolled high or low blood pressure
  • Shock
  • Massive upper GI bleeding
  • Acute peritonitis (inflammation of certain tissues in your abdomen)
  • Injuries of the cervical spine
  • Perforation of organs of the upper GI tract
  • A history of respiratory distress
  • Severe coagulopathy, a disease in which you continue bleeding because of inadequate clotting in your blood
  • Recent upper GI tract surgery
  • Long-standing and stable inflammatory bowel diseases (except for watching cancers)
  • Chronic irritable bowel syndrome
  • Acute and self-limiting diarrhea
  • Bloody or tarry stools with a clear source of the bleeding
  • Pregnancy in second or third trimester
  • History of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Recent colon surgery or past surgery of your abdomen or pelvis resulting in internal adhesions
  • Acute diverticulitis
  • Tear in a blood vessel in your abdomen
  • Sudden colon inflammation
  • Acute inflammation of the sac that lines your abdomen
  • Noncorrectable coagulopathy, a disease in which you continue bleeding due to inadequate clotting factors in your blood
  • Massive gastrointestinal bleeding

Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 6/3/2014

Medical Author:

Luigi Santacroce, MD

Coauthor:

Tommaso Losacco, MD

Medical Editor:

Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM

Medical Editor:

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD

Medical Editor:

Ron Fuerst, MD

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