An endoscopy is a procedure used to visually examine your upper digestive system. During an endoscopy your doctor gently inserts a long, flexible tube, or endoscope, into your mouth, down your throat and into your esophagus. A fiber-optic endoscope has a light and tiny camera at the end.

Your doctor can use this device to view your esophagus, stomach and the beginning of your small intestine. The images are viewed on a video monitor in the exam room.

If your doctor sees anything unusual, such as polyps or cancer, he or she passes special surgical tools through the endoscope to remove tissue or collect a sample to examine it more closely.