Operating arthroscope

Claim 1

In an arthroscope with structural elements, including a lens system, an instrument channel and a fiber optic lighting system, fixed within a rigid sheath, the improvement which comprises: providing said sheath in association with a central housing, wherein the sheath includes a first, terminal, elongated sheath segment extending from said central housing said terminal segment having a longitudinal axis; and a second, viewing, elongated sheath segment carrying an eye piece at its distal end, extending in a direction opposite said terminal segment from said central housing at a location laterally offset from but approximately adjacent the longitudinal axis of said terminal segment, wherein said viewing segment is longer than said terminal segment, and said instrument channel is contained by said terminal sheath segment, and terminates with an entry, adapted to pass instruments from outside, at said central housing at a location offset from said viewing segment and spaced from said eye piece approximately the length of said viewing sheath segment; the relative length of said terminal and viewing sheath segments, and the spatial arrangement of said eye piece and said entry being selected so that blind manipulations of instruments through said instrument channel may be accomplished by an operator looking through the eye piece with said operator's hands in front of the operator's torso and below the shoulder level of said operator.