n. a fibreoptic or video instrument for examining the interior of the duodenum. A side-viewing duodenoscope allows direct visualization of the duodenal ampulla and is used in performing *ERCP.
weakness or paralysis of the shoulder and arm usually caused by injury to the upper roots of the *brachial plexus during traumatic childbirth. This may happen if, during a difficult delivery, excess traction applied to the head damages the fifth and sixth cervical roots of the spinal cord. The muscles of the shoulder and the flexors of the elbow are paralysed and the arm hangs at the side internally rotated at the shoulder with the forearm pronated (waiter’s-tip deformity). Recovery may be spontaneous, but in some cases nerve grafts or muscle transfers are required. [W. H. Erb (1840–1921), German neurologist]
ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) the technique in which a catheter is passed through a *duodenoscope into the *ampulla of Vater of the common bile duct and injected with a radiopaque medium to outline the pancreatic duct and bile ducts radiologically. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP; see cholangiography) is often used to diagnose biliary and pancreatic disease followed by ERCP for diagnostic confirmation and therapeutic intervention. ERCP facilitates the removal of gallstones from the common bile duct, biopsy of lesions, and insertion of biliary *stents. See also papillotomy.... erb’s palsy
n. the operation of cutting the *ampulla of Vater to widen its outlet in order to improve biliary drainage and allow the passage of stones from the common bile duct. It is usually performed using a diathermy wire through a *duodenoscope during *ERCP.... papillotomy
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