A bipolar resectoscope (1,1) comprising - a shaft (2, 2') having an insulating insert (8, 8') made of an electrically non-conductive material at its distal end, where the insulating insert (8, 8') has at its exposed, distal end facing away from the shaft (2, 2') an inlet area (36, 36'), arranged in vertical direction below its longitudinal axis, for a longitudinally displaceable cutting electrode, and the insulating insert (8, 8') has an exposed electrically conductive area of a neutral electrode (5, 5') which is electrically connected to a passive electrode terminal at the proximal end of the shaft (2, 2'), - a working element mountable in the shaft (2, 2') in which the active cutting electrode can be arranged in a longitudinally displaceable manner, said active cutting electrode being connected at its proximal end facing away from the distal end to an active electrode terminal at the proximal end of the working element, and said working element having an optical guide tube to accommodate an optical unit which can be inserted in the working element, and - the active cutting electrode characterized in that the area of the passive neutral electrode (5, 5') exposed toward the outside and transverse to the longitudinal axis of the insulating insert (8, 8') forms a continuously electrically conductive roof section (32, 32') of the insulating insert (8, 8') toward the inside, that the exposed portion of the passive neutral electrode (5, 5') is limited to the roof section (32, 32') of the insulating insert (8, 8') in the inlet area (36, 36'), that the roof section is arranged transverse to the longitudinal axis of the insulating insert in vertical direction above the inlet area, that the roof section (32, 32') extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis over the inlet area of the insulating insert, that the insulating insert (8, 8') in the inlet area (36, 36') has on its inside wall (38, 38') two exposed electrically conductive contact surfaces (39, 39') of the neutral electrode (5, 5') facing each other and running parallel to the longitudinal axis, which, in a configuration with a cutting electrode mounted inside the shaft (2, 2'), are in metallic electrically conductive contact with the neutral electrode (5, 5') by means of one adjacent contact tube each of a fork having two parallel electrically conductive contact tubes and opening a cutting loop of the cutting electrode, and that the electrically conductive contact tubes are electrically isolated from the fork. - a shaft (2, 2') having an insulating insert (8, 8') made of an electrically non-conductive material at its distal end, where the insulating insert (8, 8') has at its exposed, distal end facing away from the shaft (2, 2') an inlet area (36, 36'), arranged in vertical direction below its longitudinal axis, for a longitudinally displaceable cutting electrode, and the insulating insert (8, 8') has an exposed electrically conductive area of a neutral electrode (5, 5') which is electrically connected to a passive electrode terminal at the proximal end of the shaft (2, 2'), - a working element mountable in the shaft (2, 2') in which the active cutting electrode can be arranged in a longitudinally displaceable manner, said active cutting electrode being connected at its proximal end facing away from the distal end to an active electrode terminal at the proximal end of the working element, and said working element having an optical guide tube to accommodate an optical unit which can be inserted in the working element, and - the active cutting electrode