Patent US 6,339,446

An endoscopic image display system has a recording apparatus for recording an endoscopic image signal, a retrieval apparatus connected with the recording apparatus so as to retrieve an image recorded in the recording apparatus, the retrieval apparatus generating a retrieval-character image signal for an operation to effect such a retrieval, a hi-vision monitor for displaying an endoscopic image from the recording apparatus which has been retrieved by the retrieval apparatus; and an image display control apparatus for outputting to the hi-vision monitor a retrieval-character image signal from the retrieval apparatus, and for controlling the outputting of a plurality of image signals in such a manner that a retrieval-character image is displayed together with the endoscopic image by the monitor on the same screen.