Bronchoscopy (definition of)

A bronchoscopy allows doctors to actually inspect the internal airways of the lungs visually in order to diagnose a disease, like mesothelioma, and check for pathogens, bleeding, inflammation and tumors.

History

Dr. Gustav Killian (1860-1921) was a German throat specialist who taught at the University of Berlin in Germany during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. He was the first doctor to perform a bronchoscopy in 1897 using the rigid type of bronchoscope he had invented; this device remained little changed for the next eighty years. It consisted of a straight metal tube that was inserted orally and required that the patient be flat on his/her back with the head and neck hyperextended. The procedure was very uncomfortable, and required that the patient be under general anesthesia.

The advent of fiberoptics has allowed for the development of a flexible bronchoscope that contains a miniature camera at the end to transmit images. Use of a fiberoptic bronchoscope is much easier for the patient, can be performed with a local anesthetic and provides much clearer and detailed images of the inner respiratory system. These images can be uploaded to a computer and enhanced as well as transferred over the Internet for consultations.