Fundamentals of Upper Respiratory Tract Endoscopy

The upper aerodigestive tract must be evaluated endoscopically for a correct diagnosis. Laryngoscopes, bronchoscopes, and esophagoscopes, both rigid and flexible, are among the tools at your disposal. The surgeon now has access to a wide range of procedures for collecting data for an accurate diagnosis and, in some situations, for implementing a therapeutic intervention, many of which can be done in an outpatient setting. A precise diagnosis, tumor staging, and the exclusion of concomitant lesions are all possible by surgical endoscopy. The gold standard is to examine thoroughly and biopsy a lesion while the patient is under general anesthesia. A sufficient biopsy specimen must be acquired regardless of the endoscopic approach employed for a histologic diagnosis. The purpose of an endoscopic examination of the equine upper airway is to detect any anatomical or functional abnormalities in the nasal passages, nasal septum, turbinates, maxillary aperture, pharynx, guttural pouches (sometimes called auditory tube diverticulum), larynx, or palate. Endoscopic examination of the nasal and pharyngeal airways requires a thorough understanding of normal nasopharyngeal anatomy.