Lyingalso called recumbency, prostration, or decubitus in medicine is a type of human position in which the body is more or less horizontal and supported along its length by the surface underneath. Lying is the most common position while being immobilized (e.g. in bedrest), while sleeping, or while being struck by injury or disease.
When lying, the body may assume a great variety of shapes and positions. The following are the basic recognized ones.
When medical professionals use this term to describe the position of a patient, they first state the part of the body on which the patient is resting followed by the word decubitus. For example, the right lateral decubitus position (RLDP) would mean that the patient is lying on their right side. Left lateral decubitus position (LLDP) would mean that the patient is lying on their left side.
Another example is angina decubitus 'chest pain while lying down'.[1]
In radiology, this term implies that the patient is lying down with the X-ray being taken parallel to the horizon.[2]
See main article: Bedrest. Bedrest as a medical treatment refers to staying in bed day and night as a treatment for an illness or medical condition, especially when prescribed or chosen rather than resulting from severe prostration or imminent death. Even though most patients in hospitals spend most of their time in the hospital beds, bedrest more often refers to an extended period of recumbence at home.