Decubitus refers to the positions taken up in bed by patients suffering from various conditions such as pneumonia, PERITONITIS, or severe exhaustion. Such patients are liable to develop bed sores, or decubitus ulcer (see ULCER).
1. n. the recumbent position. 2. adj. describing a radiograph taken with the patient lying on his or her side and the X-ray beam travelling horizontally. Such films reveal *free gas in the peritoneal cavity following perforation of a hollow organ and *fluid levels in the bowel when it is obstructed. They are commonly used in barium enema examinations. Compare anteroposterior; posteroanterior.
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