- position
- 1. An attitude, posture, or place occupied. 2. Posture or attitude assumed by a patient for comfort and to facilitate the performance of diagnostic, surgical, or therapeutic procedures. 3. In obstetrics, the relation of an arbitrarily chosen portion of the fetus to the right or left side of the mother; with each presentation there may be a right or left p.; the fetal occiput, chin, and sacrum are the determining points of p. in vertex, face, and breech presentations, respectively. Cf.:presentation. [L. positio, a placing, p., fr. pono, to place]- anatomic p. the erect p. of the body with the face directed forward (skull aligned in orbitomeatal or Frankfort plane), the arms at the side, and the palms of the hands directed forward; the terms posterior, anterior, lateral, medial, etc., are applied to the parts as they stand related to each other and to the axis of the body when in this p..- Casselberry p. a prone p. that allows an intubated patient to drink without risking entry of the liquid into the tube.- centric p. the p. of the mandible in its most retruded unstrained relation to the maxillae. SEE ALSO: centric jaw relation.- condylar hinge p. 1. the p. of the condyles in the temporomandibular joints from which a hinge movement is possible; 2. the maxillomandibular relation from which a consciously stimulated true hinge movement can be executed.- dorsosacral p. SYN: lithotomy p..- electrical heart p. a description of the heart's assumed electrical habitus based upon the form of the QRS complexes in leads aVL, aVF, V1, and V6. Sometimes loosely (and inaccurately) used to describe the frontal plane electric axis. SYN: heart p..- Elliot p. a supine p. upon a double inclined plane or on a single inclined plane, with a cushion under the back at the level of the liver; used to facilitate abdominal section.- English p. SYN: Sims p..- flank p. a lateral recumbent p., but with the lower leg flexed, the upper leg extended, and convex extension of the upper side of the body; used for nephrectomy.- Fowler p. an inclined p. obtained by raising the head of the bed about 20–30 inches to promote collection of intraabdominal fluid in the lower part of the abdomen.- frontoanterior p. a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its forehead directed toward the right (right frontoanterior, RFA) or to the left (left frontoanterior, LFA) of the acetabulum of the mother.- frontoposterior p. a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its forehead directed toward the right (right frontoposterior, RFP) or to the left (left frontoposterior, LFP) sacroiliac articulation of the mother.- frontotransverse p. a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its forehead directed toward the right (right frontotransverse, RFT) or to the left (left frontotransverse, LFT) iliac fossa of the mother.- genucubital p. SYN: knee-elbow p..- genupectoral p. SYN: knee-chest p..- hinge p. in dentistry, the orientation of parts in a manner permitting hinge movement between them.- intercuspal p. the p. of the mandible when the cusps and sulci of the maxillary and mandibular teeth are in their greatest contact and the mandible is in its most closed p..- knee-chest p. a prone posture resting on the knees and upper part of the chest, assumed for gynecologic or rectal examination. SYN: genupectoral p..- knee-elbow p. a prone p. resting on the knees and elbows, assumed for gynecologic or rectal examination or operation. SYN: genucubital p..- leapfrog p. a stooping p., such as that taken by children in playing leapfrog, assumed for rectal examination.- lithotomy p. a supine p. with buttocks at the end of the operating table, the hips and knees being fully flexed with feet strapped in p.. SYN: dorsosacral p..- mandibular hinge p. any p. of the mandible that exists when the condyles are so situated in the temporomandibular joints that opening or closing movements can be made on the hinge axis.- Mayo-Robson p. a supine p. with a thick pad under the loins, causing a marked lordosis in this region; used in operations on the gallbladder.- mentoanterior p. (MA) a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its chin pointing to symphysis or rotated to the right (right mentoanterior, RMA) or to the left (left mentoanterior, LMA) acetabulum of the mother.- mentoposterior p. (MP) a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its chin pointing to the sacrum or rotated to the right (right mentoposterior, RMP) or to the left (left mentoposterior, LMP) sacroiliac articulation of the mother.- mentotransverse p. a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its chin pointing to the right (right mentotransverse, RMT) or to the left (left mentotransverse, LMT) iliac fossa of the mother.- Noble p. patient standing and bent slightly forward; useful for inspection of a swelling of the loin that may occur with pyelonephritis.- obstetric p. the p. assumed by the parturient woman, either dorsal recumbent or lateral recumbent.- occipitoanterior p. (OA) a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its occiput under the symphysis or rotated toward the right (right occipitoanterior, ROA) or to the left (left occipitoanterior, LOA) acetabulum of the mother.- occipitoposterior p. (OP) a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its occiput turned toward the sacrum or rotated to the right (right occipitoposterior, ROP) or to the left (left occipitoposterior, LOP) sacroiliac joint of the mother.- occipitotransverse p. a cephalic presentation of the fetus with its occiput turned toward the right (right occipitotransverse, ROT) or to the left (left occipitotransverse, LOT) iliac fossa of the mother.- occlusal p. the relationship of the mandible and maxillae when the jaws are closed and the teeth are in contact; it may or may not coincide with centric occlusion.- orthopnea p. SYN: orthopneic p..- orthopneic p. the p. assumed by patients with orthopnea, namely sitting propped up in bed by several pillows. SYN: orthopnea p..- physiologic rest p. the usual p. of the mandible when the patient is resting comfortably in the upright p. and the condyles are in a neutral unstrained p. in the glenoid fossae. SEE ALSO: rest relation. SYN: postural p., postural resting p., rest p..- reverse Trendelenburg p. supine p. without flexing or extending, in which the head is higher than the feet.- Rose p. supine p. with the head off the end of the table, the neck in extension; used in operations within the mouth or pharynx.- sacroanterior p. (SA) a breech presentation of the fetus with the sacrum under the symphysis or rotated to the right (right sacroanterior, RSA) or to the left (left sacroanterior, LSA) acetabulum of the mother.- sacroposterior p. (SP) a breech presentation of the fetus with the sacrum next to maternal sacrum or rotated pointing to the right (right sacroposterior, RSP) or to the left (left sacroposterior, LSP) sacroiliac articulation of the mother.- sacrotransverse p. a breech presentation of the fetus with its sacrum pointing to the right (right sacrotransverse, RST) or to the left (left sacrotransverse, LST) sacroiliac articulation of the mother.- Scultetus p. a supine p. on an inclined plane with head low, recommended by Scultetus for herniotomy and castration.- semi-Fowler p. an inclined p. obtained by raising the head of the bed 10–15 inches, flexing the hips, and placing a support under the knees so that they are bent at approximately 90°, thereby allowing fluid in the abdominal cavity to collect in the pelvis.- Simon p. a p. for vaginal examination; a supine p. with hips elevated, thighs and legs flexed, and thighs widely separated.- Sims p. a p. to facilitate a vaginal examination, with the patient lying on her side with the lower arm behind the back, the thighs flexed, the upper one more than the lower. SYN: English p., lateral recumbent p., semiprone p..- terminal hinge p. the mandibular hinge p. from which further opening of the mandible would produce translatory rather than hinge movement.- Trendelenburg p. a supine p. on the operating table, which is inclined at varying angles so that the pelvis is higher than the head; used during and after operations in the pelvis or for shock.- Valentine p. a supine p. on a table with double inclined plane so as to cause flexion at the hips; used to facilitate urethral irrigation.- Walcher p. obsolete term for a supine p. of the parturient woman with the lower extremities falling over the edge of the table.
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po·si·tion pə-'zish-ən n a particular arrangement or location specif an arrangement of the parts of the body considered particularly desirable for some medical or surgical procedure <knee-chest \position> <lithotomy \position>po·si·tion·al pə-'zish-ən-əl adjposition vt to put in proper position* * *
po·si·tion (pə-zishґən) [L. positio] 1. a bodily posture or attitude assumed by the patient to achieve comfort in certain conditions, or the particular disposition of the body and limbs to facilitate the performance of certain diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. 2. in obstetrics, the situation of the fetus in the pelvis, determined and described by the relation of a given arbitrary point (point of direction) in the presenting part to a given arbitrary point in the coronal plane of the maternal pelvis. For the various possible positions see accompanying table. Cf. presentation.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
