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Last updated: 11/24/2009
Bronchoscopy is usually performed in an endoscopy room, but may also be performed at the bedside. The patient is placed on his back or sits upright. A pulmonologist, a specialist trained to perform the procedure, sprays an anesthetic into the patient's...
mouth or throat. When anesthesia has taken effect and the area is numb, the bronchoscope is inserted into the patient's mouth and passed into the throat. If the bronchoscope is passed through the nose, an anesthetic jelly is inserted into one nostril. While the bronchoscope is moving down the throat, additional anesthetic is put into the bronchoscope to anesthetize the lower airways. The physician observes the trachea, bronchi, and the mucosal lining of these passageways looking for any abnormalities that may be present. If samples are needed, a bronchial lavage may be performed, meaning that a saline solution is introduced to flush the area prior to collecting cells for laboratory
analysis. Very small brushes, needles, or forceps may also be introduced through the bronchoscope to collect tissue samples from the lungs.
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Bronchoscopy is a technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. An instrument (bronchoscope) is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, or occasionally through a tracheostomy. This allows the practitioner to examine the patient's airways for abnormalities such as foreign bodies, bleeding, tumors, or inflammation. Specimens may be taken from inside the lungs: biopsies, fluid (bronchoalveolar lavage), or endobronchial brushing. The construction of bronchoscopes ranges from rigid metal tubes with attached lighting devices to flexible fibreoptic instruments with realtime video equipment.
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