capsule endoscope
Meaning of capsule endoscope: A capsule endoscope is a swallowed, camera equipped pill that photographs the digestive tract as it travels through the body.
Definition of capsule endoscope
A capsule endoscope is a small, swallowable device shaped like a large pill that contains a miniature camera, a light source, a radio transmitter, and a battery. Once swallowed, it travels through the esophagus, stomach, and intestines under normal digestive movement, capturing images of the inner lining of the digestive tract along the way.
Images captured by the capsule endoscope are transmitted wirelessly to a small receiver worn on the body and are later reviewed on a computer, allowing visualization of portions of the small intestine that are difficult to reach with a traditional endoscope inserted from either end of the digestive tract. The device is eventually passed naturally in the stool.
Because a capsule endoscope moves passively with digestion rather than being actively steered, it is generally used to look for a source of bleeding or other abnormality rather than to perform an intervention such as tissue sampling.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
A capsule endoscope was used to identify the source of the patient's obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.
Good to know
A capsule endoscope can view portions of the small intestine that traditional endoscopes cannot easily reach, but it cannot take a tissue sample or treat a finding directly the way a standard endoscope can.
Word origin
Where “capsule endoscope” comes from
Capsule comes from Latin capsula, meaning a small box or case; endoscope combines Greek endon, meaning within, and skopein, meaning to view.