An endoscopic instrument (1, 134) for introduction into a body of a patient, wherein the instrument (1, 134) has a tubular shaft (3, 47, 137), which is coupled or coupleable to a handling device (5, 135), and at least two electrical, mechanical and/or optical lines (11, 13, 15, 19, 57, 59, 65, 67, 123, 181) extending through the shaft (3, 47, 137), the handling device (5, 135) has a housing, which at a proximal end has two legs (141, 143), which are arranged at an angle to one another and enclose a contact face, wherein at least one of the lines (11, 13, 15, 19, 57, 59, 65, 67, 123, 181) is guided outwards from one of the legs (141, 143) from the handling device (5, 135), wherein the legs (141, 143) are formed as two rigid gripping legs, which converge substantially in a Y-shape towards the shaft (3, 47, 137), wherein the orientation of the two legs (141, 143) relative to one another and the dimensioning of the contact face is selected in such a way that when the handling device is grasped, optionally - either both gripping legs (141, 143) can be clasped like a pair of pliers, or - the ball of the thumb can be guided between the gripping legs, so that the ball of the thumb bears against the contact face in such a way that the handling device forms a direct extension of a lower arm of a user and the handling device is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the shaft exclusively by means of supination and pronation of the lower arm, characterised in that the endoscopic instrument (1, 134) further has at least two triggers (29, 31, 147, 149) or operating levers, which can be actuated by two fingers of the hand of a user by being pulled proximally and are each connected to a distally extending tension wire (57, 59, 65, 67), wherein a control disc is arranged between the operating levers (29, 31, 147, 149), wherein the control disc is rotatable about a rotation axis in the housing of the handling device (5, 135) in an angular range in two directions, wherein the rotation axis runs substantially perpendicular to a plane spanned by the legs (141, 143), wherein the at least two triggers (29, 31, 147, 149) or operating levers are in each case directly connected or indirectly coupled to one another via the control disc, so that they move in opposite directions when actuated. the handling device (5, 135) has a housing, which at a proximal end has two legs (141, 143), which are arranged at an angle to one another and enclose a contact face, wherein at least one of the lines (11, 13, 15, 19, 57, 59, 65, 67, 123, 181) is guided outwards from one of the legs (141, 143) from the handling device (5, 135), wherein the legs (141, 143) are formed as two rigid gripping legs, which converge substantially in a Y-shape towards the shaft (3, 47, 137), wherein the orientation of the two legs (141, 143) relative to one another and the dimensioning of the contact face is selected in such a way that when the handling device is grasped, optionally - either both gripping legs (141, 143) can be clasped like a pair of pliers, or - the ball of the thumb can be guided between the gripping legs, so that the ball of the thumb bears against the contact face in such a way that the handling device forms a direct extension of a lower arm of a user and the handling device is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the shaft exclusively by means of supination and pronation of the lower arm, - either both gripping legs (141, 143) can be clasped like a pair of pliers, or - the ball of the thumb can be guided between the gripping legs, so that the ball of the thumb bears against the contact face in such a way that the handling device forms a direct extension of a lower arm of a user and the handling device is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the shaft exclusively by means of supination and pronation of the lower arm, characterised in that the endoscopic instrument (1, 134) further has at least two triggers (29, 31, 147, 149) or operating levers, which can be actuated by two fingers of the hand of a user by being pulled proximally and are each connected to a distally extending tension wire (57, 59, 65, 67), wherein a control disc is arranged between the operating levers (29, 31, 147, 149), wherein the control disc is rotatable about a rotation axis in the housing of the handling device (5, 135) in an angular range in two directions, wherein the rotation axis runs substantially perpendicular to a plane spanned by the legs (141, 143), wherein the at least two triggers (29, 31, 147, 149) or operating levers are in each case directly connected or indirectly coupled to one another via the control disc, so that they move in opposite directions when actuated.