A surgical apparatus for guiding the movement of a surgical tool in relation to the surrounding anatomy of a patient includes a surgical tool having an articulation member. The apparatus also has an image capturing device, a monitor, a control member, and at least one marker on the surgical tool for determining an orientation and attitude of the surgical tool in relation to the visual image on the monitor. The image capturing device takes visual images of the articulating member. The monitor displays the visual images taken by the image capturing device. The control member operates and guides movement of the articulating member. The marker can be colors, symbols, letters, number, or in any combination thereof. An endoscope and a display may also be included.
