Colonoscopy

Excerpt

Colonoscopy is a diagnostic as well as a therapeutic procedure performed to evaluate the large intestine (i.e., colon, rectum, and anus) as well as the distal portion of the small intestine (terminal ileum). It is performed using a hand-held flexible tube-like device called the colonoscope, which has a high definition camera mounted at the tip of the scope, as well as accessory channels that allow insertion of equipment and fluids to cleanse the colonoscope lense and colonic mucosa. The visual data that the camera feeds to the screen helps to detect abnormalities as well as overgrowth of the colonic wall and, in turn, allows us to evaluate, biopsy, and remove mucosal lesions using different types of biopsy instruments through these accessory channels. With such immense utility, colonoscopy has moved at the forefront of making colorectal cancer an easily preventable and early detected disease over the last few decades.