HEALTH > PREVENT AND CURE
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ENDOSCOPY A diagnostic technique that, thanks to technological progress, can also be used for therapeutic purposes.
Endoscopy is a procedure that comprises the direct exploration of a cavity, a duct or a hollow section of the intestines of the body by means of a special instrument, typically known as an endoscope, allowing them to be viewed from the outside. It is in principle a diagnostic technique, although it is now also used for therapeutic purposes, as a number of procedures can be performed during the endoscopy.
A wide range of endoscopes are now available each suited to the characteristics of the organic structures to be explored, although they all have a similar basic form: an endoscope essentially comprises a tube of a greater or lesser length, fitted with a source of light and a number of lenses. For the test to be performed, the tube is inserted via a natural orifice or an opening specially created in the surface of the body, and once the far end reaches the structure which is to be examined, the doctor can observe its characteristics via the end which remains on the outside, with detail and clarity, allowing him to see whether they are normal or show signs of abnormality. As one might imagine, this type of procedure is of huge usefulness, as it provides a precise vision of the details of an internal organ which could otherwise only be studied by indirect methods, and it is quite different, for example, to see radiographic images of a tumour than observing it directly.