Provided are a control device, an external device, a medical observation system, a control method, a display method, and a program capable of performing predetermined processing to a position desired by an operator even under a situation where the operator's hand is not available. A control device 9 includes: an image processing unit 92 that processes an image signal generated by an imaging unit 54 to generate a display image for display； a transmission/reception unit 94 that transmits the display image generated by the image processing unit 92 to a display device 7 and an external device 11, which has a display function and is capable of bidirectional communication and receives an instruction signal including at least a position of the display image transmitted from the external device 11； and a control unit 98 that executes predetermined processing on a touch position of the display image according to the instruction signal from the external device 11.
