The invention is directed to a bladeless trocar obturator to separate or divaricate body tissue during insertion through a body wall. In one aspect, the obturator of the invention comprises a shaft extending along an axis between a proximal end and a distal end; and a bladeless tip disposed at the distal end of the shaft and having a generally tapered configuration with an outer surface, the outer surface extending distally to a blunt point with a pair of side sections having a common shape and being separated by at least one intermediate section, wherein each of the side sections extends from the blunt point radially outwardly with progressive positions proximally along the axis, and the shaft is sized and configured to receive an optical instrument having a distal end to receive an image of the body tissue. With this aspect, the tapered configuration facilitates separation of different layers of the body tissue and provides proper alignment of the tip between the layers. The side sections include a distal portion and a proximal portion, the distal portion of the side sections being twisted radially with respect to the proximal portion of the side sections. The intermediate section includes a distal portion and a proximal portion, the distal portion of the intermediate section being twisted in a first radial direction and the proximal portion of the intermediate section being twisted in a second radial direction opposite the first radial direction.