title: [The history of evolvement of bronchoscope].
abstract: Since 1897, the year when the bronchoscope was invented, the instrument have experienced three stages of evolvement, namely, the period of conventional rigid bronchoscope, the period of flexible fibreoptic bronchoscope as well as the period of the combined use of electronic bronchoscope, broncho fibrescope and video-assisted rigid bronchoscope simultaneously. Bronchoscope plays a significant role in the fields of thoracic surgery and respiratory internal medicine. In China, the technique started rather late, but after years of hard work, it has approached or reached the international advanced level. The blossoming new techniques and their upgrading make bronchoscope play an even more important role in the interventional pulmonology.
authors.affiliation: Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, Tianjin Union Hospital, Tianjin 300050, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chang-li
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D020680:Bronchoscopes / Q000266:history*; D002681:China; D004867:Equipment Design; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D015272:Pulmonary Medicine / Q000266:history*