Gastroscopy is used to determine the condition of the mucous membrane of the stomach by inspection. For this purpose a stiff tube is used with an electric light at the end and a reflector to carry the image to the eye through a system of lenses within the tube.
The method of such examination demands the use of a long, straight, rigid tube reaching far into the stomach. The possibility of introducing a long, stiff, straight instrument has been shown to be possible in the exhibitions made by sword swallowers. Leube1 recommended a stiff sound introduced into the stomach to be palpated through the abdominal wall for the purpose of determining dilatation of the stomach. When it was found practical to introduce a stiff, straight instrument into the stomach the idea of inspection of the gastric cavity through a hollow, straight tube naturally presented itself.
Mikulicz2 was the first to