A Rhinoscope (or Nasoscope) is a thin, tube-like instrument used to examine the inside of the

nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes ...

. A rhinoscope has a light and a lens for viewing and may have a tool to remove tissue.

Types

Rhinoscopy is performed by two procedures. * Anterior Rhinoscopy using a nasal speculum * Posterior Rhinoscopy using an

endoscopic An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are insert ...

rhinoscope

Anterior Rhinoscopy

In anterior rhinoscopy, the rhinoscope is advanced through the nose to examine the

nasal cavity The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the human nose, nose in the middle of the face. The nasal septum divides the cavity into two cavities, also known as fossae. Each cavity is the continuation of one of the two nostrils. ...

Posterior Rhinoscopy

In posterior rhinoscopy, the endoscope is advanced through the mouth to examine the back of the nasal cavity above the

soft palate The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is the hard palate. ...

, and can be used to visualise the

oropharynx The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struc ...

below that. structures seen in posterior Rhinoscopy -posterior border of nasal septum, fossa of roosenmuller, eustachian tube opening, upper surface of soft palate.

References

*"Rhinoscop

The College of Veterinary Medicine/UT, retrieved Feb. 2013.

External links

Rhinoscope
entry in the public domain NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms {{Endoscopy Medical equipment Optical instruments Rhinology