What is a flexible endoscope made up of?
There are several key components which make up a flexible endoscope, and it’s important that the veterinary nurse is familiar with what these are, and what they do, in order to properly handle, prepare and use the scope.
The body of the endoscope is the main area which houses the endoscope controls. It is the area held and used by the clinician throughout the procedure. The angulation controls, brake, air and water button (if applicable), suction button, instrument channel access port and the eyepiece & focussing dial (if you’re using a fibrescope) are all located on the body of the scope.
The insertion tube is connected to the distal aspect of the endoscope body. This is the working end of the scope (i.e. the tube which will enter the patient). It usually has pre-marked 5-10cm measurements on the outside of the tube, so the clinician can easily identify how far in they are. The insertion tube is incredibly delicate and contains the instrument channel, air/water and suction channels, angulation wires and fibreoptic bundles.
The distal end of the insertion tube contains the bending section and the distal tip. The bending section is where tip deflection (moving the insertion tube, in order to drive through body channels) occurs. Steel wires move the end of the tube in line with the angulation dials on the scope body. These wires can stretch and break over time and so the angulation should always be operated carefully.
The distal tip is the very end of the insertion tube. This is where all of the channels exit the endoscope and the fibreoptic bundles end (or a video chip is present if a videoscope) protected by a lens cap. The distal tip is extremely fragile and prone to damage. Particular care should be taken to avoid knock or swing injuries to this portion of the scope.
Some endoscopes also have an umbilical tube. This is an additional, wider tube which does not enter the patient, but carries light, air, water and suction to the endoscope body and insertion tube. The umbilical tube ends in a light guide plug, whi
