what is the difference between a colonoscopy and an endoscopy?

Question

I had a colonoscopy done 3 years ago, they went in through the rectum, I had a friend tell me that I should get an endoscopy where they go in through the mouth, I asked if this would reach my colon and he said yes, is this true too?

Answer 1

I don't think so. Your small intestines are far too long for a camera to make it through the meters of that ****(Not literally). But I' a designer, not a doctor!

Answer 2

The difference between a colonoscopy and an endoscopy is that a colonoscopy is when the doctor sticks a scope through your rectem after they sudate you where you won't feel the pain. An endoscopy is when the doctor puts the scope down your throat and look at you orally and they spray that thing in your mouth into the throat and stomach. Plus they numb you up with Max anesthesia and shoot you up with a shot of good medicine to sudate you and put you to sleep where you won't feel the pain.

Answer 3

Endoscopy means looking inside, using an endoscope; its an instrument used to examine inside a hollow organ or cavity of the body. So, colonoscopy is 1 of endoscopic exams in the digestive system: Colonoscopy is inserted through the anus (to examine the colon a.k.a large intestine). From the mouth we can do esophagoscopy(only to examine the esophagus) or a Fibrogastroduodenoscopy which can examine the esophagus, stomach & duodenum .. Apart from the duodenum the small intestine is usually examined with an enteroscope (video chip or wireless capsule enteroscope)

Answer 4

A colonoscopy is a procedure that examines the lower GI tract and an endoscopy examines the upper GI (gastro-intestinal).

The endoscopy would only be useful to examine problems with your throat, espohagus, stomach and duodenum.

Answer 5

Colonoscopy goes through the bottom and endoscopy goes through the top. They may be able to get to the top of your bowels with endoscopy, it just depends on the physician and the patient and also, what they are looking for.

Answer 6

THe endoscopy does go in through the mouth, but NOT all the way to the colon. It generally is used to look at the esophogus, the stomach, and the small intestine.

Answer 7

Colonoscopy is a special application of endoscopy, which is a general method for examining hollow organs using fiber optics.

Answer 8

No the endoscopy only goes to the stomach and in some cases a bit farther, but there is no way on earth it could get to your colon.

Answer 9

The difference is the end they go in. An endoscopy will not reach your colon - unless there's a new way of doing it that nobody told me about!

Answer 10

An endoscope is the instrument used to do a colonoscopy. It is used via the rectum. An endoscope can also be used to look in the esophagus and stomach and upper intestinal tract. It isn't called colonoscopy when it goes into the mouth ...for obvious reasons.

Answer 11

A colonoscope is run up through the rectum and up into the colon, (also called the large intestine.) It has a fibreoptic scope which has its own light source and the fiber optics line can bend internal light. The machine allows a gastroenterologist to examine the colon walls, for abnormal growths, cell pockets etc.
An endoscop is a fiberoptic tube that can be threaded down natural body conduits to view internal walls or tissues. It also has fiberoptic lines and can have tiny operating tools to cut and collect tissue samples for retrieval and later study (e.g. culturing, or microscopic examination.
They are used to examine the esophagus and stomach.
But they can, also, be threaded through incisions to study internal body parts such as under the knee cap (patella), and/or the cruciate ligaments of the knee.
They are also used in microsurgery. Microsurgery is replacing standard surgery for many operations. Because the incisions are tiny and only the affected organ-portion is worked on. For example, microscopic work can be done through the use of endoscopes and tools attached thereto to remove gall bladders , kidney stones, etc.leaving a one inch (or smaller), incision. Recovery time is dramatically reduced, much quicker than conventional surgery, scars are smaller, less anesthesia is needed, (sometime only local instead af general), etc.
Dan The Answers-Man.