Endoscopic procedures: past, present, and future

1. For centuries, direct visual inspection of patients has been recognized as an important means of medical diagnosis. Hippocrates II wrote of examining the rectum with a speculum. In Pompeii, a vaginal speculum was found. The first record of a mirror being used to reflect light into an internal organ is credited to Abulkasim (936-1013), an Arabian physician who used the device to inspect a cervix. 2. Endoscopic surgery has become the standard for many operative procedures over the past few years. Some believe it is the most important advancement in medicine since the introduction of antibiotics. 3. The challenge for nurses is still evolving. Technology continues to increase at an exponential rate; some advocates of laparoscopy predict that almost every operation can and will eventually be performed by this method.