Supine position

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The supine position is a position of the body; lying down with the face up, as opposed to the prone position, which is face down. When used in surgical procedures, it allows access to the peritoneal, thoracic and pericardial regions; as well as the head, neck and extremities.^[1]

Using terms defined in the anatomical position, the dorsal side is down, and the ventral side is up.

A person in the supine position

1 Knee examination 2 Other examinations 3 See also 4 References 5 Links

[edit] Knee examination

During a knee examination there are several tests done while the patient is in the supine position:

Masses Scars Lesions Signs of trauma/previous surgery Swelling (edema â€” particular in the medial fossa (the depression medial to the patella) erythema (redness) Muscle bulk and symmetry (in particular atrophy of the medial aspect of the quadriceps â€” vastus medialis) Displacement of the patella (knee cap)

[edit] Other examinations

The supine position is also used for other examinations including an internal autopsy, palpation and auscultation of the abdominal organs, and cardiovascular assessment.

It is used to describe the position of the patient on a table for both diagnostic imaging devices and radiotherapy.