Meaning & use
otoscope
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Meaning
nouncountablemedical
A small lighted instrument used to look into the ear canal and at the eardrum.
Grammar: Countable: a doctor can use one otoscope or several otoscopes.
Patterns
- examine with an otoscope
- use an otoscope to check
- an otoscope light
The nurse used an otoscope to check whether the eardrum was red or swollen.
A home otoscope cannot replace a proper exam by a clinician.
Word forms
| plural | otoscopes |
|---|
Common combinations
- use an otoscope
- She learned to use an otoscope during her first week at the clinic.
- otoscope examination
- An otoscope examination showed wax blocking the ear canal.
- pneumatic otoscope
- A pneumatic otoscope puffs air at the eardrum to see how it moves.
Synonyms and how they differ
- auriscope
- A mainly British technical name for the same ear-viewing instrument.
- speculum
- A general word for an instrument that opens or widens a passage; not ear-specific.
Word family
- otoscopy noun
- The act of examining the ear with an otoscope.
- otoscopic adjective
- Relating to an otoscope or ear examination.
Commonly confused: otoscope or ophthalmoscope? otoscope or stethoscope?
otoscope vs ophthalmoscope
An ophthalmoscope looks inside the eye, while an otoscope is for the ear.
otoscope vs stethoscope
A stethoscope listens to heart and lung sounds; it does not magnify the ear canal.
Practice
Which tool would a nurse use to inspect a patient's eardrum?
Choose one answer.
An otoscope has a light and magnifier for the ear canal and eardrum. An ophthalmoscope is for the eye, a stethoscope listens to the chest, and a thermometer measures temperature.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “otoscope”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.