scopo-, scop-, scept-, skept-, -scope-, -scopy, -scopia, -scopic, -scopist

1. The quality, or degree, of absorbing moisture.
2. The property possessed by vegetable tissues of absorbing or discharging moisture according to circumstances.

An instrument that shows changes in the humidity of the air but does not measure the changes.

An endoscope used in direct visual examination of the canal of the uterine cervix and the cavity of the uterus.

1. A visual examination of the uterus and uterine lining using an endoscope inserted through the vagina.
2. Use of a fiber-optic endoscope to study the womb lining, take biopsy samples, and carry out local treatment.

An early form of television or video camera tube in which an image is converted into electrical impulses or electric waves.

An arcane diagnostic method based on the examination of the fibrous or fibrinous elements of specimens; such as, sputum, tissues, effusion fluids, and clotted blood.

1. An optical toy consisting of a cylinder with mirrors and colored shapes inside that create shifting symmetrical patterns when the end is rotated.
2. A complex set of events or circumstances.
3. From early 19th century, Greek kalos, "beautiful" + eidos, "form"; + scope, "see".

An optical instrument, consisting of from two to four reflecting surfaces placed in a tube, at one end of which is a small compartment containing pieces of colored glass: on looking through the tube, numerous reflections of these are seen, producing brightly-colored symmetrical figures, which may be constantly altered by rotation of the instrument.

Descriptive of a device that exhibits brightly colored and continually varying figures.

1. The recording of a TV program on motion pictures for subsequent use.
2. A tube used in television receivers and monitors.

An scientific instrument which indicates the presence of dust particles in the atmosphere.

Named after John Aitken (1839-1919), a Scottish physicist and meteorologist, one of the founders of cloud physics and aerosol science who invented the first koniscope.

An apparatus which once was used for measuring the pulse waves or the variation in blood pressure.

Examination of the interior of the stomach through an abdominal incision.

Any instrument used in examining the abdomen; now specifically one in the form of a tube for insertion into the peritoneal cavity in laparoscopy, having a source of light at the inserted end and an optical system for forming at the other end an image of the illuminated region; an endoscope for examining the peritoneal cavity.

The laparoscope is a type of endoscope, the earliest of which, dating from 150 years ago, was a crude tube down which lamplight was reflected. With the advent of fiberoptics in the 1960's and of high-intensity, low-heat, halogen bulbs in the 1970's, endoscopy became clinically practical.

Typically, in laparoscopy, the abdomen is first inflated with carbon dioxide, and the laparoscope passed through a small incision in the abdominal wall. The device is frequently used to view the female reproductive organs, in particular where endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease is thought to be present, or infertility is suspected because of obstruction of the fallopian tubes by scarring (adhesions).

Fitted with grasping and cutting tools, the laparoscope can perform minor surgery, take tissue samples for biopsy, and remove eggs from the ovaries (as in gamete intrafallopian transfer). Often done on an ambulatory basis, laparoscopy is among the new techniques that have revolutionized modern surgery.

1. Visual examination of the interior of the peritoneal cavity with a laparoscope inserted into it through the abdominal wall or the vagina.
2. An examination of body cavities during certain types of surgery; for example, surgeries to remove fibroid tumors, or gall bladders, are often removed through the navel rather than cutting into the body.