Small bowel video capsule endoscopy (VCE) was introduced in 2001 as a noninvasive means of obtaining high-quality, color endoscopic images from the duodenum to the cecum. Soon thereafter, VCE challenged traditional studies as the preferred method of examining the small…
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a combined endoscopic and radiologic procedure used for diagnostic and, more commonly, therapeutic interventions within the pancreatic and biliary tree. Although interventional radiology and interventional endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) approaches exist, ERCP has been and remains…
The development of the colonoscope followed that of upper panendoscopes. Rigid proctoscopes were developed in the late 1800s, and fiberoptic techniques were adapted to visualize the sigmoid and descending colon in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the colonoscope was lengthened…
The earliest gastrointestinal endoscopies were performed in the late 1880s using rigid instruments, looking initially at the esophagus and rectum. The semiflexible gastroscope was developed in the early 1930s by Schindler and Wolf utilizing a series of short-focal-length lenses and…
Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank those who wrote the previous text versions and the following individuals for their contributions to this chapter: Meagan Costedio, MD; enterostomal therapists Coleen Potts, RN, Susan Booth, RN, and Jeanette Gatan, RN; Lisa Rhome,…
Historical Background Omphalocele was first described by Ambrose Paré during the 16th century and was associated with poor prognosis; gastroschisis was likely described by Lycosthenes near the same time. The present-day diagnoses were established in 1953 by Moore and Stokes,…
Intestinal atresia and stenosis are common causes of neonatal intestinal obstruction and can affect any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. “Atresia,” derived from the Greek word atretos, means not perforated. This term is used to describe a congenital absence or…
Normal intestinal growth and development follows a stereotypical pattern of mesenteric rotation and subsequent intestinal fixation to the body wall during fetal life. The term malrotation has been widely used to describe various disorders of abnormal intestinal rotation and fixation.…
The term imperforate anus is a misnomer; it is commonly used to refer to a spectrum of anorectal malformations, ranging from a benign defect that requires a minor operation and results in an excellent prognosis to complex malformations with a…
Hirschsprung disease (HD) is characterized by the absence of ganglion cells in the myenteric and submucosal plexuses of the intestine. The first known description of HD appeared in an ancient Hindu document known as the Sushruta Samheta. There were multiple…