Stomach disease utilizes a small flexible camera. The procedure does require intravenous sedation and takes about 30–45 minutes; the endoscope is inserted via the mouth and can visualize the entire swallowing tube, stomach and duodenum. The procedure also allows the physician to obtain biopsy samples. In many cases of bleeding, the surgeon can use the endoscope to treat the source of bleeding with laser, clips or other injectable drugs. Other radiological studies frequently used to assess patients with chronic stomach problems include a barium swallow, where a dye is consumed and pictures of the esophagus and stomach are obtained every few minutes.
Embryological origins of the mouth and anus that the structures are equivalent homologous, and that the older ideas about protostome mouth formation were correct. An alternative way to develop two openings from the blastopore during gastrulation, called amphistomy, appears to exist in some animals, such as nematodes. In many animals these early development stages later evolved in ways that no longer reflect these original patterns. For instance, humans have already formed a gut tube at the time of formation of the mouth and anus. Then the mouth is formed first, during the fourth week of development, and the anus is created four weeks later, temporarily forming a