Gastro-intestinal photo-endoscopy

Abstract

Endoscopic examinations afford an insight into a patient’s condition for the examiner alone or, at best, for one other observer who may be looking through a so-called teaching attachment at the same time. Only a photographic record of the endoscopic observation enables all those involved with the case to share in the establishment of the diagnosis. Photography within the framework of gastrointestinal endoscopy thus assumes a significance which begins to compare with radiology. For everyday clinical purposes one may distinguish between the following specific uses of photography during endoscopy:

• 1. Diagnostic documentation of the result of the examination in each individual patient on colour negative or Polaroid material;

• 2. Photographic recording of typical as well as atypical appearances on slides for various teaching purposes, such as at seminars and congresses;

• 3. Extension of the scope of diagnosis by means of instruments having close-up vision and a high resolution capacity, such as intravital macropathology in the context of laparoscopy. It is necessary to differentiate in principle between endoscopic photography with fixed instruments and conventional optical lenses on the one hand and glass fibre optics on the other, since completely different requirements and results are associated with each system.