What Are the Parts of an Endoscope?

An endoscope is a long tube with a camera at the tip that allows your doctor to examine your upper digestive tract. It transmits images to a monitor in the exam room.

The insertion tube must be strong enough to withstand repeated washing and sterilization. It should also be flexible enough to navigate easily through body cavities.

Light Source and Video Processor

An endoscope is used to examine the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system in humans and veterinary patients. A tiny camera at the tip of parts of endoscope the endoscope transmits images to a video monitor in the exam room. The provider can then look at the image and watch for anything unusual. Occasionally gentle air pressure is fed into the endoscope to inflate it, making it easier for the provider to move through the digestive tract.

Before the development of true video endoscopes, all flexible endoscopes depended upon fiber optics to transmit an image from the tip to the eyepiece. Thousands of thin glass fibers are bundled into “coherent image bundles” that can bend and curve through tortuous anatomy without loss of signal. This technology is also used in non-medical applications, such as the examination of improvised explosive devices by bomb disposal personnel and law enforcement.

The video endoscopes that entered veterinary and human medicine in the 1980s were designed with a chip in the tip that senses an image, transmits it electronically to a computer processor and then to the video monitor. These endoscopes are typically more expensive than fiberscopes, but the video quality is superior.

The chip in the tip of a video endoscope is either a charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. The newer CMOS image sensors are gaining favor because of better quality and cost savings over CCDs.

Suction Pump

An endoscope has a long flexible tube with a lens at one end and a camera at the other. The lens lets your doctor see a magnified view of the area under examination, and the camera transmits images to a video monitor in the exam room. The video allows your doctor to examine areas of your digestive tract. Your doctor may also use the endoscope to remove small amounts of tissue for biopsy (a sample of cells or tissue), insert tubes (stents) to open blocked passageways in your bile duct or digestive tract, and perform other surgical procedures such as removing gallbladder stones, removing polyps from your esophagus and stomach, and placing drain tubes (stents) in a blocked bile duct.

To perform an endoscopy, your health care provider first sprays an anesthetic in your mouth to numb it. Then he or she gently slides the long, flexible tube (endoscope) down your throat. You should swallow as the tube passes down your throat.

The endoscope has internal channels for passing biopsy instruments and therapeutic accessories, a water channel for flushing the scope and washing it, and an air channel to inflate body cavities to facilitate observation. Many of these channels are narrow and can’t be cleaned with a brush, so they must be manually rinsed out using high pressures. Some specialist endoscopes have additional channels for specialised functions. These are often used for invasive procedures, such as forceps raiser bridge (‘elevator’ wire) channels in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).

Irrigation Bottle

An endoscope contains a channel for irrigation water to help remove any foreign material and to flush out the intestines. It is used in a wide variety of endoscopic procedures, including colonoscopies and ERCP. It is also useful for removing impacted food or small stones from the bowel. These channels can be irrigated with water or other liquids. Because they are invasive and therefore need to be decontaminated and steam sterilised, these accessories are classed as high risk items (see Table 24.1) and are normally supplied as single use, rather than reprocessed.

To reuse the plastic bottles for irrigation, dig a hole in your garden that is deep enough to flexible endoscope parts bury one bottle, preferably in between or amongst a group of plants so it is hidden. Then, cut the bottle vertically and make a hole in the lid, so that when you pour water it drops down the slope of the next half-bottle then spills into the last bottle cascading style, thus reducing runoff, evaporation and weeds, as well as adding fertilizer to the soil directly at the plant roots.

Pressure Compensation Valve

A typical endoscope has an elongated tube designed for insertion into an internal area of the body. Lenses at the distal end of the scope form an image of the internal area and control wires, instruments, and other equipment pass through tubular passages from the distal to proximal ends. Typically these passages are air and water-tight but may have caps, covers or valves to seal them when the endoscope is not in use. The nozzles and other parts of the endoscope must be kept meticulously clean for proper function and viewing during an endoscopic procedure.

A cap 100 is provided that includes a stem 190 adapted to actuate and hold open a valve when fitted to an opening of the endoscope (not shown). The cap is configured to allow air or other gasses to pass through but prevents or substantially impedes water or other liquids from passing.

The cap should be cleaned after each use by placing it in an appropriate cleaning and disinfection solution for endoscopes, such as an enzymatic cleaner or demineralized water. It should then be rinsed thoroughly and allowed to dry completely before re-use. Ideally the cap and endoscope should be stored hanging up, on a holder attached to the endoscopy trolley or on a rack, rather than lying flat on a work surface, as this minimises the risk of accidental damage. Prior to use, the endoscope should be inspected visually for signs of damage and subjected to a leak test.