GASTROSCOPE-FROM RIGID TO FLEXIBLE

Abstract

The history of rigid gastroscopes started with the study of Kussmaul in 1868. The period of rigid and flexible gastroscopes lasted less than 100 years. In the early stage, Trouve, Nitze -Leiter and Mikulicz (1881) developed gastroscopes using platinum wire with the water cooling system as the light source. It is reported that Mikulicz' gastroscope provided pretty good images. From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, various rigid gastroscopes were developed by researchers such as Rosenheim (1895), Rewidzoff (1897), Kelling (1897), Kuttner (1897), Jackson (1907), Loening/Stieda (1908), Souttar/Thompson (1908), Hill (1911), Rovsing (1908) and Kolliker (1909). The gastroscope developed by Elsner in 1909 was good for practical use. After that, Sussman (1911), Steinberg (1921), Schindler (1923), Korbsch (1925) and Hiibner (1926) developed other types of rigid gastroscope, among which the device of Schindler was most widely used. 1932, Wolf and Schindler developed a flexible gastroscope, which was designed to bend to some extent. This flexible gastroscope was widely spread in the US and Europe, and when people referred to gastroenterologist, it meant specialists of this flexible gastroscope. How-ever, there were very few institutes engaging in gastroscopy in Japan at this time. Once observation by gastroscope became widely available, biopsy was attempted. Kanamore (1940), Benedict (1948), Debray (1962) announced the gastroscopes for biopsy that they developed. In this paper, development of the various apparatus from early models of rigid gastroscopes to later models of flexible gastroscope and relating matters will be introduced.