Sims position

noun

A medical position in which the patient lies on the left side with the right hip and knees bent and the left hip and lower extremity straight, often used for rectal and vaginal examinations.

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Meanings

nounSims position (plural Sims positions)

plural Sims positions · alternative Sims' position

  1. medicineA medical position in which the patient lies on the left side with the right hip and knees bent and the left hip and lower extremity straight, often used for rectal and vaginal examinations.

    The conventional positions now generally in use in obstetrics are the modified lithotomy position, with the patient on her back, and to a lesser extent the Sims position, wherein the patient reclines on her side, the upper knee being drawn up on the abdomen.

    1951 February, Forrest H. Howard, “The Physiologic Position for Delivery”, in Northwest Medicine, volume 50, number 2, Portland, Ore.: Northwest Medical Publishing Association, page 98

Origin

Named after American physician J. Marion Sims (1813–1883).

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Cite this entry
APA

Sims position. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sims%20position

MLA

“Sims position.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sims%20position. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sims position,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sims%20position.

Source: Sims position on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.