Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Endoscopy
Endoscopy is a procedure that lets your doctor look inside your body. It uses an instrument called an endoscope, or scope for short. Scopes have a tiny camera attached to a long, thin tube. The doctor moves it through a body passageway or opening to see inside an organ. Sometimes scopes are used for surgery, such as for removing polyps from the colon.
There are many different kinds of endoscopy. Here are the names of some of them and where they look.:
- Arthroscopy: joints
- Bronchoscopy: lungs
- Colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy: large intestine
- Cystoscopy and ureteroscopy: urinary system
- Laparoscopy: abdomen or pelvis
- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: esophagus and stomach
It sits within Diagnostic Tests and Surgery and Rehabilitation.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Endoscopy
4,745 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Photodynamic Diagnosis of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Using Fluorescence Endoscopy and Oral 5-ALAHenry Ford Health System
- Safety and Efficacy of Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) Guided Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) in the Treatment of Pancreatic LesionsThe University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
- Outcomes in Simulated Endoscopy TrainingUniversity of Oklahoma
- Efficacy of Combined Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy and Choroid Plexus Cauterization in Treatment of HydrocephalusAssiut University
- Paclitaxel-Coated Balloon Treatment of Chronic RhinosinusitisAiriver Medical, Inc.
- Deep Neuromuscular Blockade and a Low-Residue Diet for the Surgical Field in vNOTES HysterectomyFatih Sultan Mehmet Training and Research Hospital
Research already completed
- Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery StudyUniversity of Florida
- Endoscopy and Radiology-guided Ablation for Inoperable CholangiocarcinomaClinical Hospital Colentina
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- EndoscopyAmerican Cancer Society
Related Issues
- Sedation for GI ProceduresAmerican College of Gastroenterology
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: EndoscopyNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Endoscopy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Endoscopy, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.