Historically, tracheostomy has been performed from about the first century, and instruments were devised to carry out such a procedure. Relief of airway obstruction was later facilitated by instruments to perforate the cricothyroid membrane and at the turn of the century, O'Dwyer introduced an instrument to allow blind intubation of the larynx with a metal cannula. Direct visualization of the larynx for the purposes of diagnosis and treatment was effectively delayed until general anaesthesia became available, and early laryngoscopes and bronchoscopes were hampered by poor illumination and difficulty in maintaining oxygenation. The invention of fibreoptic lighting overcame the former problem to a large degree, but easy maintenance of oxygenation and anesthesia during bronchoscopy has been revolutionized by the invention of rigid ventilating bronchoscopes.