Intraluminal endoscopy in children - past, present, future

The review presents the stages of the development of endoluminal endoscopy from rigid endoscopes with tube illumination to digital high-resolution endoscopy and methods of optical biopsy. The development of endoscopic studies in children began in the 60s of the XX century, and now they are indispensable methods of the visualization. There are described diagnostic options and achievements of intraluminal endoscopy in children, as well as the prospects for its development. The current level of endoscopy in pediatrics includes a high resolution of the obtained image, a morphological study of biopsies and a full range of endosurgical procedures. The authors believe the prospects for the development of endoluminal endoscopy in pediatrics to be determined by the improvement of endoscopes along with maintaining their high resolution with a gradual transition to robotic remote-controlled endoscopic systems.