Abstract
The endoscope which has attained a remarkable development is not only indispensable for diagnosis but also playing important roles in treatments and studies of pathophysiology of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the development has not always been attained smoothly as is seen today but is a result of accumulated efforts exerted by many people involved in it. Attempts to observe rectum and vagina with speculum dates back to Hippocrates' time, but the initial attempt to examine the inside of body with light through a tube which could be the origin of the endoscope was first made by Bozzini in 1795, which was called Lichtleiter. The word `endoscope' was used initially by Desormeaux in 1853. He described the use of a straight tube endoscope for obsrervations of the urinary tract, bladder and rectum. It was Kussmaul who developed this procedure further in 1868 and made observation of the esophagus. He was succeeded in inserting the scope into the stomach but was unable to observe it at all. In 1886, Nitze and Leiter produced a cystoscope with an electric bulb as the light source. Based on this cystoscope, the subse-quent development of gastroscope was attained by Mikulicz, Rosenheim, Kuttner, Elsner, Schindler (1920), Korbsch (1925) et al. And a rigid gastroscope was introduced and put to practical use. Then a flexible gastroscope was completed by Schindler and Wolf (1932). It was used widely in Europe but was not in Japan. On the other hand, it was by Einhorn in 1889 that the conception of a gastrocamera, describing that a miniture camera is directly inserted into the stomach and that gastric mucosa is examined from the pictures taken, first appeared in the literature. However, because of the underdeveloped photography, the conception had never developed into a practical use, and only gastrodiaphany was in use. It was Lange and Meltzing (1898) who performed clinical experiment initially with a trialmanufactured gastrocamera, but this again was left entirely abandoned without practicability due to the underdeveloped photography. A pinhole type stereogastrocamera was developed by Porges and Heilpern in 1929, but the value for its practical use was scarce. In 1950, Uji et al developed a gastrocamera on their own, but the initial medel was extremely imperfect. The gastrocamera suffered frequent disorder and was almost discarded. What required for practical use of a gastrocamera depended entirely upon the energetic study being carried out by 8th laboratory, 1st Department of Internal Medicine, University of Tokyo. Subsequently, many improvements were made on the gastrocamera, and as a result its practical value was widely recognized, for which the gastrocamera has come into wide use and become the instrument indispensable for clinical purposes. Development of the fiberscope was originated from Lamm's experiment in 1930 which proved that a bundle of glass fiber can transmit images. Lamm recommended to Schindler its application to gastroscope, but no further progress was made. A fiberscope of practical value was produced initially byHirschowitz et al in 1957. The subsequent develop-ment of the fiberscope has been remarkable to date and is now at the zenith of prosperity. In connection with the development of the gastrocamera, Japan Gastrocamera Society was established in 1959 and developed into Japan Endoscopy Society in 1961 and finally into Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society. The activities of these societies have given a great deal of contribution to the progress of endoscopy. In addition to the development of instrument itself, the matter particularly emphasized in this lecture is the importance of our positive attitude to make the most of its function, to make the observation with a fresh eye, and to analyze the records of photography repeatedly. The endoscope today is applicable to biopsy, for which it is the fact that easygoing attitude is seen on the part of the examiners. However, no progress is obtained b
