Rigid bronchoscopy in the twenty-first century.

Rigid bronchoscopy, a procedure more than 100 years old, now has been performed in three centuries. The "open tube" bronchoscope provides safe access to the lower airways and has proved to be compatible with newer, more sophisticated therapies as they have been introduced into the practice of bronchology. The twenty-first century surely will provide the bronchoscopist with exciting new diagnostic and therapeutic tools for the management of lung diseases, and it is likely that the rigid bronchoscope will continue to play an important role in delivering these tools to the airways. Pulmonologists need to appreciate the use of this classic instrument and prevent rigid bronchoscopy from becoming a forgotten art.