Endoscope vs. Borescope — What's the Difference?

An endoscope is an illuminated optical, typically slender and tubular instrument (a type of borescope) used to look deep into the body and used in procedures called an endoscopy. Endoscopes use tubes which are only a few millimeters thick to transfer illumination in one direction and high-resolution images in real time in the other direction, resulting in minimally invasive surgeries.

A borescope (occasionally called a boroscope, though this spelling is nonstandard) is an optical instrument designed to assist visual inspection of narrow, difficult-to-reach cavities, consisting of a rigid or flexible tube with an eyepiece or display on one end, an objective lens or camera on the other, linked together by an optical or electrical system in between. The optical system in some instances is accompanied by (typically fiberoptic) illumination to enhance brightness and contrast.

A slender, tubular instrument, such as an arthroscope or laparoscope, that is inserted into a body cavity or part for the purpose of visual examination, diagnosis, or surgical treatment.

An optical instrument used for seeing inside tight spaces, consisting of a rigid or flexible tube with an optical relay inside so that the view through a lens or window at one end of the tube may be seen from a lens or eyepiece in the opposite end of the tube.

An instrument used to examine a bodily orifice or canal, or a hollow organ.

An instrument for examining the interior of the body, consisting of a flexible tube with lenses and optical fibers permitting illumination of the interior site to be inspected, and visualization of the interior site from outside the body; it often has small surgical instruments attached to the end and manipulable from the outside, permitting biopsy or surgery. It is used as a non-invasive or minimally invasive tool for diagnosis or treatment, especially in organs having an external opening such as the rectum, the urethra, and the bladder.

A long slender medical instrument for examining the interior of a bodily organ or performing minor surgery