Colonoscopy – instrumental examination of the colon (colonoscopy, endoscopy of the large bowel) requires a clean colon.
This means that thorough bowel preparation with laxatives is needed before the examination, so that the entire bowel wall is cleaned and any abnormalities become visible.
During the instrumental examination, a fibre-optic instrument about as thick as a little finger is passed up through the rectum, into the colon.
The examination is unpleasant, but nowadays painkilling and mildly sedating medication is routinely used during the procedure, so the patient feels nothing.
