I seriously doubt that Dr. Hiromi Shinya "invented" the colonoscopy, as GfS said.

By the way, for those who don't know the difference between a colostomy and a colonoscopy:   If a person's normal bowel function is impaired (by, say, cancer of the rectum), a surgeon may "reroute" the patient's colon to a surgically created orifice in the side of the abdomen. One must then wear a "colostomy bag" fastened over the orifice with adhesive, into which fecal matter is deposited. Not pleasant, but there are a lot of people who are living with colostomies.

A colonoscopy is a diagnostic procedure in which the entire length of the colon can be examined by inserting a very small camera attached to a fiber-optic cable through the anus. The colon can be examined for polyps, cancerous growths, or any other conditions.

Preparation is the most unpleasant part of the procedure for the patient. The entire colon must be cleared of fecal matter, necessitating some pretty extreme purging prior to the procedure. Humor columnist Dave Barry describes his experience in what is probably the world's longest – and funniest – poop-joke ~ HERE.

For the procedure itself, the patient is anesthetized.

The above is for your enlightenment and edification.

By the way, recently a friend of mine was highly amused by a message she got in a fortune cookie. It said, "You have an inner beauty." She laughed and said, "That's what they told me after my colonoscopy!"

Re "inventing" the colonoscopy procedure:   procedures of this kind are generally "invented" by a number of people. Someone has an idea, such as "It would be good if we could do some sort of minimally invasive (!?) examination of the colon that doesn't involve surgery at all." Many people put much thought to how this can be done and many ideas are advanced and rejected. Oftentimes, the solution comes with a technological advance of some sort such as—in the case of the colonoscopy—the development of a miniaturized television camera combined with fibre-optics.

My nephew is a trauma surgeon, and he has worked on a number of devices and procedures involving endoscopy and laparoscopy. That, he tells me, is how it's usually done, and rarely can any one person claim that he or she "invented" the procedure or device.

And this country STILL needs RATIONAL health care reform that includes a public option. Other countries have excellent systems that are much less expensive than ours. Why is the country that touts itself as "The Leader of the Free World" so bloody primitive in this area!??

Don Firth

P. S. By the way, GfS, I thought I would try to help you sort a few things out. This chart should help:   Learn to tell the difference.