enteroscopy

Enteroscopy is the procedure of using an endoscope for the direct visualization of the small bowel. Etymologically, the word could potentially refer to any bowel endoscopy (entero- + -scopy), but idiomatically it is conventionally restricted to small bowel endoscopy, in distinction from colonoscopy, which is large bowel endoscopy. Various types of enteroscopy exist, as follows: Video chip enteroscopy Double-balloon enteroscopy Single-balloon enteroscopy Spiral enteroscopy Wireless endoscopy Capsule endoscopy

As the small bowel can often be a source of pathology, endoscopy of the small bowel can be a useful diagnostic and therapeutic technique. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, also called upper endoscopy, gets as far as the first segment of the small bowel, the duodenum, but the next two, the jejunum and ileum, require other methods. Visualization of the small bowel has long posed a challenge to gastroenterologists, due to the physical difficulty of reaching more distal regions of the small bowel. With the advent of the newer forms of enteroscopy, such as the double-balloon type, visualizing the entire tract is finally a practical reality in at least some cases, although it is still technically demanding.