The difference between anorectoscopy and colonoscopy

Anorectoscopy and colonoscopy are two medical technologies for examining the human gastrointestinal tract, and in the eyes of many people, anorectoscopy and colonoscopy are the same because they mainly enter through the human anus. In fact, there are some differences between anorectoscopy and colonoscopy because these two medical technologies detect different parts of the body. Therefore, the instruments and equipment to be used are also different. So what is the specific difference between anorectal endoscope and colonoscope?

Both are inserted through the anus. The proctoscope is a straight tube about 20 cm long with a light source and a miniature electronic camera at the end. It slowly enters the rectum from the anus to check for lesions, tumors or ulcers in the rectum. If necessary, tissue testing can be performed. The colonoscope is generally a fiber colonoscope, which is longer and slowly enters the colon from the anus to check for lesions, tumors or ulcers in the colon. The main difference between the two is the different inspection sites.

Colonoscopy is a method of examination in which a colonoscope is inserted through the anus into the ileocecal cavity to observe colon lesions from the mucosal side. It is the best choice for diagnosing colorectal mucosal lesions. It transmits the image of the colon mucosa to the electronic computer processing center through the electronic camera probe installed at the front end of the colonoscope, and then displays it on the monitor screen. Minor changes in the colorectal mucosa can be observed.

Colonoscopy is the simplest, safest and most effective method to detect intestinal tumors and precancerous lesions. However, endoscopy is an invasive examination method after all, which causes certain discomfort and complications. Therefore, many people are afraid of this examination, which causes some colorectal lesions and even tumors to not be diagnosed early, thus delaying the best time for treatment. With the advancement of anesthetic drugs and medical monitoring technology, painless colonoscopy has emerged. In fact, it is an intravenous injection of an anesthetic drug with a fast onset, short effective time and definite effect before the examination, which makes the patient fall asleep within a few seconds and wake up early after completing all the examinations. There will be no discomfort or pain during the examination, so it is becoming more and more popular among patients. However, colonoscopy also has its shortcomings, such as anesthesia accidents, sometimes a long anesthesia recovery process, and high costs.

Anoscope is a type of colonoscope, but the observation area is relatively shallow and can only observe the anus and rectum, so it is called anoscope. Colonoscope is mainly used to observe the entire colon, and can also observe the anus and rectum. If the disease is considered to be near the anus, an anoscope can be used. If the disease is considered to be located deeper, a colonoscopy is needed. An anoscope does not require intestinal preparation, while a colonoscopy does.