Colonic visualization

Theory and Equipment. Many diseases of the human body can be identified by visual appearance. Tumors in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, for example, possess a characteristic salmon pink color (3). The presence of such a color can be an indication of disease. Endoscopy is the medical imaging tool used to detect such colors in the inside of hoUow internal organs such as the rectum, urethra, urinary bladder, stomach, colon, etc. An endoscope is the instmment used to perform endoscopy. Endoscopic imaging involves the production of a tme color picture of the inside of the human body using lenses and either hoUow pipes, a fiber optic bundle, or a smaU CCD camera. AU three use a large field-of-view, sometimes referred to as a fish eye, lens to aUow a 180° field of view. 

Colonoscopy allows visualization and biopsy of the colon and is preferred if blood has been found in the stool or if the patient has AIDS. 

Colonoscopy Visual examination of the colon using a lighted, lens-equipped, flexible tube (colonoscope) inserted into the rectum. 

Sigmoidoscopy Visual inspection of the sigmoid colon and rectum with a flexible tube called a sigmoidoscope. 

Sharma, S., Sharma, S., Singh, R. K. and Vaishampayan, A. (2008). Colonization behavior of bacterium Burkholderia cepacia inside the Oryza sativa roots visualized using green fluorescent protein reporter. World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 24, 1169-1175. 

Direct endoscopic visualization and biopsy of the colon may be undertaken to assess for the presence of conditions such as colitis or cancer. 

Fujianmycins A and B were isolated from a Streptomyces species (IA-CAS-114) in Fujian, China [167], The structure of fujianmycin A (34a) may be regarded as the 2,3-hydrated form of (33a), and fujianmycin B (34b) as its methyl ether derivative. The structure of antibiotic PD-116740 (35), isolated from an unidentified actinomycete species (WP-4669) and possessing activity against L1210 leukaemia in vitro and HCT-8 human colon adenocarcinoma cell line [168], may be visualized as the 3-hydroxylated 8-methyl-5,6-diol derivative of (33a). All these antibiotics contain the characteristic 2-phenylnaphthalene structural feature. 

Many different preparations of colloidal barium sulfate for roentgenography are available commercially. The so-called barium meals are not limited to liquid suspensions they also appear as tablets (73). Barium sulfate suspensions containing an effervescent agent have been introduced for use in doublecontrast studies (74,75). Barium sulfate may also be coated with Fe203, MgO, and Al Oa (63,761. The coated material has good dispersibility and very low viscosity in acidic media. Other barium preparations are also useful. A barium titanate suspension was compared with barium sulfate (72). An emulsified mixture containing castor oil and barium sulfate can visualize colon fistula more economically than can iodinated contrast media (77). 

The upper Gl series involves radiographic visualization of the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine whereas the lower Gl series involves visualization of the colon and rectum. 

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