sigmoidoscope
Meaning of sigmoidoscope: A sigmoidoscope is a lighted, tube shaped instrument used to view and sometimes sample tissue from the rectum and lower colon.
Definition of sigmoidoscope
A sigmoidoscope is a thin, tube shaped instrument fitted with a light source and a lens or camera, used to examine the interior of the rectum and the lower portion of the colon, called the sigmoid colon. It is inserted through the anus and advanced a limited distance, allowing direct visual examination of the lining of these structures.
Many sigmoidoscopes also include a channel through which small instruments can be passed, allowing a clinician to remove a polyp or take a tissue sample for further examination during the same procedure. A flexible sigmoidoscope, the type most commonly used, can bend to follow the natural curve of the colon.
Because a sigmoidoscope examines only the rectum and lower colon rather than its entire length, it differs from a colonoscope, a longer instrument used to examine the full length of the colon in a single procedure.
Used in a sentence
A sigmoidoscopy was performed using a flexible sigmoidoscope to evaluate the source of rectal bleeding.
Good to know
A sigmoidoscope examines only the rectum and lower colon, so findings from this procedure do not rule out a problem located farther along the colon, which would require a full colonoscopy to evaluate.
Word origin
Where “sigmoidoscope” comes from
Formed from Greek sigma, the letter shape describing the curve of the sigmoid colon, combined with eidos, meaning form, and skopein, meaning to view or examine.