POSITION

n. Poaz-i2'shu3n. Gr., fl^ris. Lat., positio (from ponere, to place). Fr., p. Ger.,Stellung,La</e. Syn.: situation, posture, attitude. 1. Locality; situation, absolute or relative. 2. See POSTURE. 3. See ATTITUDE. 4. In obstetrics, see P. of the foetus, ajso the obstetrical subheadings of this article. The wordsp., situation, attitude, and posture are often used without much regard to their difference of meaning. Custom sanctions our regarding them as synonymous to a certain extent, but precision in descriptive writing would be favored by a igning a distinct meaning to each of them under certain circumstances. Situation is the only one of them that is always free from ambiguity, since it is never iised in medicine with reference to anything else than locality. It might be used to advantage oftener than it is. It would be better, for instance, to say of a uterus or a heart forced bodily out of its natural locality that its situation, not its position, was changed not because the use of position in this sense is without warrant, but because, technically, it may be misleading. Attitude may be said to be synonymous with both posture and position, using the latter terms in their ordinary sense, but under certain circumstances it has a special meaning of its own. (See ATTITUDE of the foetus [in Supplement]). The same may be said of posture (see POSTURE of the foetus), and it may be added that, when not speaking of the foetus, it would be well to use the term instead of position, if the intention is to denote a relation to the immediate surroundings, since position may mean either posture or situation. Position may, however, be freed from ambiguity by coupling an appropriate adjective with it; e. g., " prone position " nece arily refers to posture, and can not refer to situation. Bregma to-cotyloicl p. of the foetal head. One of Uvedale West's subdivisions of the occipito-posterior p., being that one in which the vertex is inclined toward the acetabulum of the mother. Cadaveric p. Of von Ziem en, that p. of the vocal bands in which, owing to paralysis of the recurrent nerve, they remain motionle and in about the same p. as in a corpse. [Cohen (A, 63).] Calcaneo-cotyloid p. Fr., p. calcaneo-cotyloidienne. A foot presentation with the child's heels turned toward one or the other of the mother's acetabula. [A, 96.] Calcaneo-pubic p. Fr., p. calcaneo-pubienne. A foot presentation with the child's heels turned toward the mother's symphysis pubis. [A, 96.] Calcaneo-sacral p. Fr., p. cal can eos a cree. A foot presentation with the child's heels turned toward the mother's sacrum. [A, 96.] Cephalo-cotyloid p. Fr., p. cephalo-cotylo'idienne. A transverse presentation with the head toward one of the mother's acetabula. [A, 96.] Cephalo-iliac p. Fr., p. cephalo-iliaque. A transverse presentation with the head toward one of the mother's ilia. [A. 96.] Cephalo-pubic p. Fr., p. cephalo-pubienne. A transverse presentation with the head resting over the mother's pubes. [A, 96.] Cephalo-sacral p. Fr. p. cephalo-sacree. A transverse presentation with the head directed toward the mother's sacrum. [A, 96.] Cephalo-sacroiliac p. Fr., p. cephalo-sacro-iliaque. A transverse presentation with the head directed to one of the mother's sacro-iliac synchondroses. [A. 96.] Dorso-anterior p's. Those p's of the foetus in which its back is directed forward as regards the mother and somewhat to her right or left. Dorse-iliac (or -lateral) p. Fr., p. sacro-iliaque trans ver sale. That p. of the foatus in which the back is directed to the mother's right or left side. Dor so posterior p's, Dorso-pubic p's, Dorso-sacral p's. Those p's of the foetus in which its back is directed backward as regards E, he; E, ell; G, go; I, die; I3, in; N, in; N, tank; [s. 314]