Diagnostic procedures for hemorrhoids.
Your physician will first visually examine the anal region, perhaps by inserting a lubricated gloved finger or an anoscope or a proctoscope (which works like an anoscope but provides a more thorough rectal examination).
More procedures may be needed to identify internal hemorrhoids or rule out other ailments that frequently cause anal bleeding, such as anal fissure, colitis, Crohn's disease, and colorectal cancer. To see further into the anal canal (into the lower colon, or sigmoid), sigmoidoscopy may be used, or the entire colon may be viewed with colonoscopy. For both procedures, a lighted, flexible viewing tube is inserted into the rectum. A barium x-ray can show the entire colon's interior. First a barium enema is given, then x-rays are taken of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
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