Flexible bronchoscopy is now considered to be part of the core service provided by a respiratory paediatrician. Instruments small enough for use in children were developed in the 1980s. Recent introduction of smaller videoscopes provide superior images compared to conventional fiberoptic instruments. All but the smallest flexible endoscopes incorporate a small suction channel. This enables analysis of airway secretions for aspiration and infection, for therapeutic broncho-alveolar lavage or for the passage of small instruments for bronchial brushings and biopsy. In controlled conditions bronchoscopy has few complications. Increasingly it is performed in neonatal and paediatric intensive care units where acutely ill children will tolerate the procedure with minor physiological instability. ...