Patients who present to clinicians with complaints referable to the upper airway often benefit from careful visualization of the nasopharyn geal structures. The methods of viewing upper airway structures have been evolving since Manuel Garcia, a Spanish singing instructor, first wrote in 1854 about arranging a series of mirrors so he could use sunlight to visualize his own larynx.<sup>18 Weir N. Otolaryngology: An Illustrated History London: Butterworth & Co (1990).  3 245.

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup> Kirstein wrote about direct laryngoscopy in 1895. Later equipment refinements included many methods to reduce the number of light beams that had to be arranged to perform indirect examinations, including the use of head lamps instead of head mirrors and the development of rigid scopes with prisms and incandescent bulbs for viewing the structures of the larynx. The introduction of a flexible fiberoptic scope in 1968 has allowed physicians to view the structures of the upper airway as never before. Fiberoptic endoscopy has been used routinely in ambulatory settings by physicians since the 1980s.<sup>6 Donnelly J.P. The out-patient use of the fibrebronchoscope for examining the larynx J Laryngol Otol 1985 ;  99 : 793-794

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 7 Goldstein S.I., Weiss M.H. Fiberendoscopic removal of pharyngeal foreign bodies Laryngoscope 1987 ;  97 : 108-109

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 9 Kamel R.H. Nasal endoscopy in chronic maxillary sinusitis J Laryngol Otol 1989 ;  103 : 275-278

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 10 Lancer J.M., Jones A.S. Flexible fiberoptic rhinolaryngoscopy. Results of 338 consecutive examinations J Laryngol Otol 1985 ;  99 : 771-773

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 11 Lancer J.M., Moir A.A. The flexible fiberoptic rhinolaryngoscope J Laryngol Otol 1985 ;  99 : 767-770

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 13 Rohr A., Hassner A., Saxon A. Rhinopharyngoscopy for the evaluation of allergic-immunologic disorders Annals of Allergy 1983 ;  50 : 380-384

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 14 Selkin S.G. Endoscopic photography of the ear, nose, and throat Laryngoscope 1984 ;  94 : 336-339

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti, 15 Selner J.C., Koepke J.W. Rhinolaryngoscopy in the allergy office Annals of Allergy 1985 ;  54 : 479-482

Cliccare qui per andare alla sezione Riferimenti</sup>