Endoscopy is a minimal invasive diagnostic tool used to examine the inside of an animal without the need of surgery. A long, thin, flexible tube with a light and video camera at one end called endoscope is used to for this procedure. The tube is passed into the body through the mouth and the images from the camera are viewed on a screen.
This device is useful for examining the organ surfaces, tissues, airways, oesophagus and stomach. It is also useful for looking down into the trachea and inside the bronchi of the lungs.
Using the endoscope biopsies (small samples of tissue) can be taken from the lining of the trachea, oesophagus and stomach. At the other end of the patient, the endoscope can also be used to look into and take biopsies of the colon.
The patient needs to be under general anaesthetic for endoscopy.
