In medicine (gastroenterology), esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or upper endoscopy is a diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualises the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is considered a minimally invasive procedure since it does not require an incision into one of the major body cavities and does not require any significant recovery after the procedure (unless sedation or anesthesia has been used). See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that are used to treat patients. ... Gastroenterology or Gastrology might be better described as the field of digestive diseases, which are traditionally separated by anatomic or functional category. ... Diagnosis (from the Greek words dia = by and gnosis = knowledge) is the process of identifying a disease by its signs, symptoms and results of various diagnostic procedures. ... Endoscopy means looking inside and refers to looking inside the human body for medical reasons. ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... A minimally invasive medical procedure is defined as one that is carried out by entering the body through the skin or through a body cavity or anatomical opening, but with the smallest damage possible to these structures. ... Sedation is a medical procedure involving administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure, such as endoscopy, or minor surgery with local anaesthesia. ... Anesthesia (AE), also anaesthesia (BE), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ...

Procedure

An EGD is performed using an endoscope. This instrument is a plastic tube 8 to 12 mm in diameter and 160 cm in length that houses control cables to maneuver the tip, glass fibers to transmit light from the tip, fiberoptic cable or electronic circuits to transmit an image back to the operator, and channels through which to pass instruments, air, suction, and water to facilitate examination and biopsy or otherwise manipulate tissues from the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. One end of the tube is attached to a control handle. The end inserted into the patient contains a lens to acquire the image, and openings of the various channels in the scope. Still photographs can be made during the procedure and later shown to the patient to help explain any findings. Endoscopy means looking inside and refers to looking inside the human body for medical reasons. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... cm redirects here, alternate uses: cm (disambiguation) A centimetre (symbol cm; American spelling: centimeter) is an SI unit of length. ... There is a disputed proposal to merge this article with glass-reinforced plastic. ... The esophagus, oe/œsophagus*, or gullet is the muscular tube in vertebrates through which ingested food passes from the mouth area to the stomach. ... In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek στομάχι) is an organ in the alimentary canal used to digest food. ... In anatomy of the digestive system, the duodenum is a hollow jointed tube that connects the stomach to the jejunum. ... A lens is: a part of the eye an optical device that may be used in a camera or in a telescope; see lens (optics). ... A photograph (often just called a photo) is an image (or a representation of that on e. ...

Indications

In most patients an unexplained drop in hematocrit (a sign of anemia) is an indication to do an EGD, usually along with a colonoscopy. Even if no obvious blood has been seen in the sputum (spit) or stool (feces). An EGD is most important when there are signs of an upper gastrointestinal bleed (UGI bleed). UGI bleeding often presents with melena (very dark black, tarry-like stool, which often has a foul odor). Other indications include reflux disease (also called heart burn or GERD), or blood in vomitus. Chronic acid reflux can cause changes in the cells lining the esophagus, which can eventually lead to cancer if not treated, so an examination and biopsy is very important. The hematocrit (Ht) or packed cell volume (PCV) is the proportion of blood that is occupied by red blood cells. ... Anemia ( American English) or anaemia ( Commonwealth English), which literally means without blood, is a lack of red blood cells and/or hemoglobin. ... Colonoscopy is the minimally invasive endoscopic examination of the large colon and the distal part of the small bowel with a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. ... In medicine, melaena or melena is the passage of black tarry motions per rectum. ... Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD, or GORD when -oesophageal, the BE form, is substituted) is injury to the esophagus that develops from chronic exposure of the esophagus to acid coming up from the stomach (reflux). ... Vomiting (or emesis) is the forceful expulsion of the contents of ones stomach through the mouth. ... The esophagus, oe/œsophagus*, or gullet is the muscular tube in vertebrates through which ingested food passes from the mouth area to the stomach. ... A biopsy (in Greek: bios = life and opsy = look/appearance) is a medical test involving the removal of cells or tissues for examination. ...

Diagnostic use

In its most basic use, the endoscope is used to inspect the lining of the digestive tract. Often inspection alone suffices to diagnose a patient's problem, but biopsy is a very valuable adjunct to endoscopy. Small biopsies can be made with a pincer (biopsy forceps) that is passed through the scope and allows sampling of 1 to 3 mm pieces of tissue under direct vision. The intestinal mucosa heals quickly from such biopsies. A biopsy (in Greek: bios = life and opsy = look/appearance) is a medical test involving the removal of cells or tissues for examination. ... Forceps are a hand-held instrument for grasping and holding objects, similar in concept to tongs, tweezers or pincers. ...

Problems that are amenable to diagnosis by endoscopy include those diseases where there is a visible abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract or that have a characteristic appearance on biopsy. Ulcers, tumors, bleeding blood vessels (including esophageal varices), and infections are all readily seen with endoscopy. Peptic ulcer is a non-malignant ulcer of the stomach (called gastric ulcer) or duodenum (called duodenal ulcer). ... Tumor (American English) or tumour (British English) originally means swelling, and is sometimes still used with that meaning. ... The blood vessels are part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body. ... In medicine (gastroenterology), esophageal varices are extreme dilations of sub mucosal veins in the mucosa of the esophagus in diseases featuring portal hypertension, secondary to cirrhosis primarily. ... Infection is also the title of an episode of the television series Babylon 5; see Infection (Babylon 5). ...

Biopsy allows the pathologist to render an opinion on later histologic examination of the biopsy tissue with light microscopy and/or immunohistochemistry. Biopsied material can also be tested on urease to indentify Helicobacter pylori. Pathology (in ancient Greek pathos = feeling, pain, suffering and logos = discourse or treatise, i. ... Microscopy is any technique for producing visible images of structures or details too small to otherwise be seen by the human eye. ... Immunohistochemistry is the process of detection of antigens in tissue using antibodies. ... Urease (EC 3. ... Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that infects the mucus lining of the human stomach. ...

Problems of gastrointestinal function are usually not well diagnosed by endoscopy since motion or secretion of the gastrointestinal tract are not easily inspected by EGD. Nonetheless, findings such as excess fluid or poor motion of gut during endoscopy can be suggestive of disorders of function. Irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia is not diagnosed with EGD, but EGD may be helpful in excluding other diseases that mimic these common disorders. Irritable bowel syndrome - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Dyspepsia is a constant pain in the stomach. ...

Therapeutic use

Additional procedures that can be done include:

• injection of liquids through a needle (e.g. adrenalin in bleeding lesions)
• cutting off of larger pieces of tissue with a snare (e.g. polyps)
• application of cautery to tissues
• retrieval of foreign bodies that have been ingested
• tamponading bleeding esophageal varices with a balloon

Some surgical procedures can be done through the endoscope including tightening of the muscles at the end of the esophagus (the lower esophageal sphincter) and rubber band ligation of esophageal and gastric blood vessels. Epinephrine (INN) or adrenaline (BAN) is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. ... This article is about the cnidarian polyps. ... In medicine (gastroenterology), esophageal varices are extreme dilations of sub mucosal veins in the mucosa of the esophagus in diseases featuring portal hypertension, secondary to cirrhosis primarily. ...