colonoscopy

American  

[koh-luh-nos-kuh-pee] / ˌkoʊ ləˈnɒs kə pi /

noun

Medicine/Medical.

• colonoscopies
  plural

1. visual inspection of the interior of the colon with a flexible, lighted tube inserted through the rectum.

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colonoscopy Scientific  

/ kō′lə-nŏs′kə-pē /

1. Inspection of the interior surface of the colon with a flexible endoscope that is equipped to obtain tissue samples and inserted through the rectum.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• colonoscopic
  adjective
• colonoscopically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• colonoscopies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of colonoscopy

First recorded in 1900–05; colon ² ( def. ) + -o- ( def. ) + -scopy ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

colonoscopy colonoscopies

He had also just started on cholesterol drugs and undergone his first colonoscopy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

For the Americans thinking 83% sounds like a good-enough option to avoid a colonoscopy or a stool test, think again.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 2026

He said: "One came back with indications of blood in my stool. I went through further tests, and it was at the colonoscopy that they identified a cancer in my bowel."

From Science Daily ● May 6, 2026

By the time he had a video examination of his bowels – called a colonoscopy – the cancer was so large it blocked the camera from getting in.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

A year later, he went back to the same doctor for a colonoscopy.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

The new building would feature two additional beds and the capacity to perform additional services such as infusion therapy for cancer, mammography and colonoscopies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

The same AI pattern-recognition that’s learning to spot breast tumors is being applied to thyroid screening, lung nodule detection and colonoscopies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 4, 2026

However, colonoscopies -- the primary screening method used today -- can be costly and uncomfortable, which discourages many people from getting tested on time.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026

Exact’s Cologuard is the first non-invasive at-home test for colorectal cancer, allowing some people to bypass invasive and time-consuming colonoscopies as part of their routine care.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 20, 2025

Subsequent colonoscopies revealed that those bathroomgoers had a 46 percent higher risk of hemorrhoids than those who didn’t use their phones.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025