PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope in which the bending stiffness can be uniformly increased in a circumferential direction when the flexibility of a flexible tube is varied, so that an incorporated object is not pressed inside the flexible tube.SOLUTION: The flexible tube 36 is formed by covering a first spiral tube 37 with a cylindrical mesh body 38 followed by fitting nozzles 39 to both the ends and covering the outer circumferential surface with a housing layer 40 made of a resin. A flexible tube 27 is formed in such a way that a second spiral tube 41 is disposed in the inside of the first spiral tube 37, and a light guide 42, a forceps channel 24, an air/water transfer channel 43 and a multi-core cable 44 are freely inserted into the inside of the second spiral tube 41. In the second spiral tube 41, a front end portion is fixed to the first spiral tube 37 and a base end portion is fixed of an adjusting dial 19. When the adjusting dial 19 is operated for rotation from an initial position to a tight contact position, the outer circumferential surface of the second spiral tube 41 is in tight contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first spiral tube to increase the bending stiffness of the flexible tube 27.COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT【課題】可撓管部の可撓性を可変させたとき、曲げ硬さを周方向において均一に上昇させることが可能であり、可撓管部の内蔵物を圧迫しない内視鏡を提供する。【解決手段】可撓管36は、第1の螺管37に、筒状網体38を被覆して両端に口金39を嵌合し、外周面に樹脂からなる外皮層40を被覆してなる。可撓管部27は、第1の螺管37の内部に第2の螺管41が配置され、第2の螺管41の内部にライトガイド42、鉗子チャンネル24、送気・送水チャンネル43、多芯ケーブル44を遊挿してなる。第2の螺管41は、先端部が第1の螺管37に固着され、基端部が調整ダイヤル19に固定される。調整ダイヤル19を初期位置から密着位置に回転操作すると、第2の螺管41の外周面が第1の螺管の内周面に密着して可撓管部27の曲げ硬さが上昇する。【選択図】図3
