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.
Using terms defined in the
anatomical position, the
posterior is down and
anterior is up.
Using layman's terms, this is simply lying on your back staring upwards.

A person in the supine position
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 — 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 muscle — vastus medialis)
★ Displacement of the
patella (knee cap)
Other examinations
The supine position is also used for other examinations including an
internal autopsy, palpitation and auscultation of the abdominal organs, and cardiovascular assessment.
See also
★
Prone position
★
Anatomical position
Links
supine position