Fiberscopes and fiber bundles

An elongate imaging fiber bundle may include a plurality of elongate optical fibers coherently arranged in the bundle, the plurality including peripheral fibers at a periphery of the bundle and deep fibers deep to the peripheral fibers, and a coating surrounding the plurality of fibers. An exposed length of the bundle, intermediate the bundle's proximal and distal ends, may be chemically etched to be denuded of the coating, and peripheral fibers are so severed as to permit injection of light into the peripheral fibers at the exposed length. A fiberscope may include a fiber bundle having an exposed length that is denuded of the coating, and peripheral fibers are so severed in the exposed length as to permit injection of light into the peripheral fibers at the exposed length, and a light source so positioned with respect to the exposed length of the bundle as to inject light into the peripheral fibers at the exposed length.