Introduction: The ability to photograph, film, and eventually record human pathology and surgical procedures has greatly influenced urologic training and practice. Given that urology routinely uses endoscopy and minimally invasive techniques, it is no surprise that the history of film is closely intertwined with the field. Methods: A review of textbooks, manuscripts, online texts, was performed on the development and application of photography and cinematography in urology. Results: The precursor to the first camera—camera obscura—was described in 2674 BCE in China. A decade before the first photographic camera was invented in 1816, German physician Phillip Bozzini developed the forerunner of the urologic endoscope, the Lichtleiter. It consisted of a silver funnel illuminated by candlelight reflecting off angled mirrors. In 1867, Julius Bruck developed the diaphanoscope, a water-cooled glass tube inserted into the rectum or vagina to transilluminate the bladder. Thomas Stein constructed the Photo-endoskop in 1874, capable of producing an instant negative picture; he captured photos of the urethral mucosa. Maximilian Nitze was intrigued by endovesical photography as cystoscopic findings were difficult to reproduce with drawings. He applied an internal light source to his cystoscope using an electrically-heated platinum wire behind a quartz shield and went on to present “Photography of the Human Urinary Bladder” at the Berlin Medical Society in 1894. Co-founder of the AUA History Forum, Wirt Dakin, filmed the first urologic movie in 1916—an open prostatectomy performed on the roof of the LA General County Hospital. He presented his work at the 1917 AUA meeting in Chicago. The first successful black and white film of the human bladder was presented at the 1929 German Cinema Society meeting. Inspired by a German WWII cystoscope with a Leica camera attachment and frustrated by the difficulty of photographing bladder tumors, urologist James Gow worked with Harold Hopkins to improve the cystoscope. Karl Storz had developed flexible fiberoptics to provide a light source without generating a significant amount of heat within the body; the rod-lens cystoscope that launched in 1967 in Munich combined their innovations and produced photographs of excellent quality. By the 1960s cameras were used to televise endoscopy images, and color film for video endoscopy became available in 1972. Urologic journals now include dedicated sections to photography and videography as means of advancing the field. Conclusions: In the past two centuries, film has rapidly advanced as a cornerstone of urologic training and practice. SOURCE OF Funding: NA
