An endoscope is a device with a light attached that is used to look inside a body cavity or organ. The scope is inserted through a natural opening, such as the mouth during a bronchoscopy , the rectum for a sigmoidoscopy , or the vagina for a cystoscopy .
A medical procedure using any type of endoscope is called endoscopy .
Review Date: 5/17/2007 Reviewed By: Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.