Recumbent usually means to lie down in a backward position. So the word Recumbent Position refers to a state of lying down backward. It is derived from a Latin word “recubere”. This word recumbent position also defines another word decubatus position. There is a type of recumbent position which is called Lateral recumbent position. This recumbent position is usually used by the patients in the hospitals. This position refers to the lying down of the patient with right knee and thigh up. The patient always lies on the left side. The reason for this is that most of the human organs lie on the right side. Only pancreas and small intestine lie on the left side. This is the reason why recumbent position is on the left side to ignore the pressure on the organs. The lateral recumbent position is also called English position, Obstetric position or Sims' position. This lateral position is used for treating various diseases. It is used for the examination of rectus. This position cannot be assumed by those people who have leg injuries or arthritis problems cannot assume this position because by doing this the situation of their problem may go worst. This lateral recumbent position helps in the flow of pulmonary venous system. There is another type called as dorsal recumbent position. It is also called the lying back position. In this position a person lays on the bed with his knees and thighs lying straight on the bed with the face up. It means that a person does not have to move in this position. This position is usually used by means of exercise. This position is also used by the doctors in examining the upper parts of the body.

The parts like abdomen, neck, chest and the lower parts of the body such as genital organs. The doctors use this position to check if all these organs are working properly or not but the doctors have to do this very sensitively because if something goes wrong then this phenomenon may harm the human body. So use this position as prescribed by the doctors. The dorsal recumbent position is also called dorsal decubitus or supine position. This position is also used by people to add comfort to their body. Another type of recumbent position is called ventral recumbent position. The ventral recumbent position refers to a state of lying with the knees and thighs straight but the face must be on the down side. The ventral recumbent position is also known as prone position. This position is also used by soldiers when attacking the enemy. This position is also used by the soldiers when shooting at someone. By this position the shooting mark becomes more prominent so the shooter finds it easy to shoot the target. This position may also be used by the pilots in the shooting aircrafts. IF we go through the history then we will get to know that the bombers in World War II used this type of position to throw the bombs perfectly on the enemy. It is also known as ventral decubitus. This position is also used in the treating of diseases by doctors. This position is used in various surgeries. The main purpose of using this position is to treat anesthetic patients in a regular way. It drops the cardiac output of an anesthetic patient thus helping in treating the patient more easily and in a good way. This position also decreases the heart stroke rate. This position has a positive effect on the respiratory system. The arterial oxygen tension increases when this position is applied on a patient. The disadvantage of this ventral recumbent position is that it results in many injuries when using this position. The pressure in this position on the body organs is so high that these organs do not resist and always results in some injury. To avoid these types of injuries during the treatment a doctor must take care of this and make sure that the vulnerable areas of the body like eyes, nose and ears does not get heavy pressure. These were the types of recumbent position which are usually used in treating diseases. These can make a person healthy but everyone should use the positions in a proper way as prescribed by the doctor. recumbent position