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

If blood is found, additional testing is offered, most often a colonoscopy.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

No one looks forward to a colonoscopy, but for the millions of Americans who refuse screening, a simple blood test could help catch colon cancer.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 4, 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

And in the middle of Eisman’s colonoscopy, a roomful of doctors and nurses retold the story of Eisman’s genius.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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

"Our method detected 90% of cancer cases, a result very close to the 94% detection rate achieved by colonoscopies and better than all current non-invasive detection methods."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 9, 2026

"So I hope you're getting your check-ups. I hope you get your colonoscopies and breast exams and prostate exams, they will save your life."

From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025

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

Just as we have timelines for things like mammograms and colonoscopies, I would love to see timelines for menopause training where at age 35, we start explaining symptoms to women.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2025