[A developmental history of endoscopy].
The real development of endoscopy began from modern times, though people have attempted to observed cavities of human body for advancing their knowledge of diseases for a long time. Generally, the development of endoscopy can be divided into the following stages: the stage of rigid - tube system, semiflexible instruments, fiberoptic endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography and electronic endoscopy etc. Now, endoscopy is not only used in diagnosis, but also in therapy. The development of endoscopy started quite late in China. However, due to the great efforts made by the endoscopic physicians and some experts, the clinical applications and operations of endoscopy have been upgraded to the international level, and the manufacture engineers of medical instruments have also made contributions to the endoscopic development of China.
Lu
Ping
P
Xiehe Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022.
Liu
Fang
F
Lu
Kunzhang
K
Qi
Zhao'en
Z
D002681:China; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000266:history*; D014943:Global Health; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century