- A dictionary of medical eponyms

Trendelenburg's position

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Position in which the patient is on an elevated and inclined plane, usually about 45°, with the head down and legs and feet over the edge of the table. It is used in abdominal operations to push abdominal organs towards the chest. This position is also usually used in treating shock, but if there is an associated head injury, the head should not be kept lower than the trunk.

Bibliography

    The first description of Trendelenburg's elevated position was given by one of his students, Willy Meyer (1854-1932), in [von Langenbeck’s] Archiv für klinische Chirurgie, Berlin, 1885, 31: 495-525.
  • F. Trendelenburg:
    Über Blasenscheidefisteloperationen und über Beckenhochlagerung bei Operationen in der Bauchhöhle.
    Sammlung klinischer Vorträge, Nr. 355, Chirurgie, Leipzig, 1890; 109: 3372-3392.
    Reprinted in Medical Classics, 1940, 4: 936-988.
    Includes an account of his attempt, 1886, to cure hydronephrosis by a plastic operation – the first recorded surgical intervention for the relief of this condition.

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