Pioneers of Laryngoscopy

Indirect, Direct and Video Laryngoscopy

Pieters, Dr B. M. MD
Eindhoven, G. B. MD, HEMS
Acott, C. MBBS DipDHM FANZCA CertDHM
Van Zundert, A. A. J. MD PhD FRCA EDRA FANZCA

^* Department of Anaesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Maastricht University Hospital, Maastricht, The Netherlands
^† Department of Anaesthesiology, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
^‡ Department of Anaesthesia, Pain and Hyperbaric Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
^§ Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston Campus, Brisbane, Queensland

Accepted December 23, 2014

Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 43(1_suppl):p 4-11, July 2015. | DOI: 10.1177/0310057X150430S103

Airway management is one of the core skills of the anaesthetist and various techniques of airway management have developed over many years. Initially, the only view of the glottis that could be obtained was an indirect view (indirect laryngoscopy). Late in the 19th century, a direct view of the glottis was obtained via various direct laryngoscopes. Currently, in the early 21st century, there has been a return to indirect laryngoscopy via videolaryngoscopy using a videolaryngoscope. The aim of this paper is to give a historical overview of the development of both direct and indirect laryngoscopy.