Arthroscopes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Instruments used in minimally invasive surgeries to visualize joints and diagnose or treat conditions within them
2. Visual devices that allow healthcare professionals to examine the interior of joints for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes
3. Tools utilized in orthopedic procedures that provide a view into joint cavities to assist in various medical interventions

Etymology: The plural of "arthroscope," which is built from two Greek elements: "arthron," meaning "joint," and "skopein," meaning "to look at" or "examine." The same stem gives us "microscope" and "telescope," and the word was formed on that pattern for an instrument that lets a surgeon see inside a living joint without opening it up. Arthroscopes are the tubular instruments themselves, usually fitted with a light source and a small camera, and they are inserted through a tiny incision. The compound was assembled from classical Greek parts to name a modern device, so the ancient Greeks had no word for it and the term was coined in the medical era that produced the instrument.

Synonyms: endoscope