Many patients who have abdominal pain, or discomfort which from the clinical history may seem to your doctor to be related to the stomach, intestine or bowel, may refer you to a surgeon to have further investigation. 

In order to ascertain where your pain is originating, it may be necessary to look inside the stomach (endoscopy) or bowel (colonoscopy). These investigations allow the surgeon to examine the inside of your body and to take small samples of tissue for examination under the microscope.