-scopy
Meaning of -scopy: Looking inside with an instrument, an act named separately from the instrument that does it and from any image recorded.
Definition of -scopy
The suffix -scopy names the act of examining the inside of the body directly, using an instrument passed through a natural opening or through a small cut. A colonoscopy examines the colon, a bronchoscopy the airways, an arthroscopy the inside of a joint. The examination is watched live as it happens, rather than recorded first and read later.
What does the examination involve?
A slim tube carrying a light and a camera, steered into the space being examined while the picture appears on a screen. Because the view is direct, the operator can act on what is found in the same sitting: taking a sample of tissue, removing a growth, stopping a point of bleeding or widening a narrowed passage. That combination of looking and treating is why these examinations displaced so many older tests, which could show a shadow or an outline but could not sample it. Access is either through an existing opening, as in gastroscopy down the gullet, or through a small cut made for the purpose. Preparation, sedation and recovery vary widely between them, since reaching the large bowel asks far more of a person than reaching the voice box.
How do -scope, -scopy and -gram differ?
Three closely related endings describe the instrument, the act and the record, and mixing them up is the commonest slip in this group.
| Ending | What it names | Example |
|---|---|---|
| scope | the instrument | endoscope |
| scopy | the act of looking | endoscopy |
| graph | the recording machine | electrocardiograph |
| graphy | the act of recording | mammography |
| gram | the record produced | electrocardiogram |
Which examinations carry the ending?
Nearly every hollow organ has one. Colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy examine the large bowel, bronchoscopy the airways, cystoscopy the bladder, laryngoscopy the voice box, laparoscopy the abdominal cavity and arthroscopy the inside of a joint. The general term covering the whole group is endoscopy, built from a prefix meaning within. Much of this work is directed at the gastrointestinal tract, since the gullet, stomach and bowel are reachable from either end without any incision at all.
Terms built on -scopy
25 entries in this glossary use this word part. Each one follows the same pattern.
- breast duct endoscopy A method used to examine the lining of the breast ducts to look for abnormal tissue.
- bronchoscopy A procedure that uses a bronchoscope to examine the inside of the trachea, bronchi (air…
- colonoscopy The only bowel test that both finds a polyp and removes it, which is why it prevents…
- colposcopy Examination of the vagina and cervix using a lighted magnifying instrument called a…
- cystoscopy Ultrasound and CT show the bladder wall from outside; only a look inside reveals flat…
- direct ophthalmoscopy An exam of the inside of the back of the eye using an ophthalmoscope (a flashlight-sized…
- endoscopy A procedure that uses an endoscope to examine the inside of the body.
- esophagoscopy Examination of the esophagus using an esophagoscope.
- fluorescence microscopy Fluorescence microscopy uses light-emitting dyes or naturally fluorescent molecules to…
- fluoroscopy Fluoroscopy is an imaging procedure that produces continuous, real-time x-ray pictures,…
- gastroscopy Examination of the inside of the stomach using a gastroscope passed through the mouth and…
- gonioscopy Gonioscopy is an eye examination that visualizes the drainage angle of the eye, helping…
- indirect ophthalmoscopy An exam of the inside of the back of the eye using a beam of light and a hand-held lens.
- laparoscopy Trading one long wound for several small ones changes the recovery far more than it…
- laryngoscopy Laryngoscopy is a procedure to directly view the larynx, either with a hand held mirror…
- mediastinoscopy A short operation through a small cut above the breastbone, giving direct access to the…
- nasoscopy Examination of the inside of the nose using a nasoscope (or rhinoscope).
- optical spectroscopy In medicine, a technique that uses low power light, fiberoptic instruments, and detectors…
- proctoscopy Examination of the rectum using a proctoscope, inserted into the rectum.
- proctosigmoidoscopy Examination of the lower colon using a sigmoidoscope, inserted into the rectum.
- rhinoscopy Examination of the inside of the nose using a rhinoscope.
- sigmoidoscopy Examination of the lower colon using a sigmoidoscope, inserted into the rectum.
- slit-lamp biomicroscopy An eye exam using an instrument that combines a low-power microscope with a light source…
- spectroscopy Reading what a substance is made of by seeing which wavelengths it absorbs, emits or…
- thoracoscopy Looking inside the chest cavity through a small opening between the ribs, usually to…
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The suffix -scopy indicated that the interior of the organ had been inspected directly.
Good to know
The ending names the act of looking while -scope names the instrument, so an endoscopy is the examination and an endoscope is the tube used to perform it.
Word origin
Where “-scopy” comes from
From the Greek skopein, to look at or examine, related to skopos, a watcher; the paired ending -scope names the instrument doing the looking.