Endoscopy and laparoscopy: a historical aspect of medical terminology

The history of medical terminology is interrelated with the scientific advances in the field. Efforts to explore human cavities for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes began as early as the 5th century BC. The evolution of laparoscopy at the beginning of the past century has been a major step toward minimization of surgical trauma. The present article investigates the terminological origin and the evolution of the terms endoscopy and laparoscopy.

A search of ancient bibliographical archives and a review of the modern medical literature was undertaken.

The word endoscopy derives from the Greek word endoscópesis, a compound word consisting of éndon, which means inside and scopeín, which means to watch carefully. Laparoscopy also is a compound word, consisting of the words lapára, which means abdomen or abdominal wall, and scopeín. The word lapára derives from the adjective laparós, which means soft. The word lapára may be traced back to the Linear B syllabic script (17th to 13th century BC), as well as in descriptions of fights by the epic poet Homer (8th century BC). Although endoscopic examinations had been performed since the 5th century BC, the term endoscopy is first encountered in medical manuscripts of the 19th century AC, after the evolution of novel instruments and following the advent of artificial light. Similarly, the word laparothoracoscopy was first used in the early 20th century.

The origins of the words laparoscopy and endoscopy are traced back to the archaic period and later to the classical years of ancient Greece. The everlasting semantic of these origins is revisited in the 21st century, as minimization of surgical trauma with the aid of modern technology substantiates the diachronic objective “to do no harm.”