In an electronic endoscope of the present invention, an edge detection circuit
detects a down edge section and an up edge section of both ends of a blood vessel
in a width direction based on a G signal output from an RGB color conversion circuit,
an R coefficient selector and a B coefficient selector select, for example, a coefficient
smaller than 1 for the detected down edge section and select, for example, a coefficient
larger than 1 for the up edge section, and a multiplier multiplies an R signal
and a B signal by these coefficients. As a result, both ends of the blood vessel
are highlighted with a left end part expressed blackish and a right end part expressed
reddish, making it possible to clearly display blood vessels in mucous membranes
on a monitor. It is also possible to detect phases on a coordinate system where
an R-Y signal is set on a vertical axis and a B-Y signal is set on a horizontal
axis, compare these phases with reference phase 1 of blood vessel
colors and extract signals of blood vessel colors.