Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In
anatomical terms of location
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position p ...
, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The
supine position is the 180° contrast.
Etymology
The word ''prone'', meaning "naturally inclined to something, apt, liable," has been recorded in English since 1382; the meaning "lying face-down" was first recorded in 1578, but is also referred to as "lying down" or "going prone."
''Prone'' derives from the Latin ', meaning "bent forward, inclined to," from the adverbial form of the prefix ''pro-'' "forward." Both the original, literal, and the derived figurative sense were used in Latin, but the figurative is older in English.
Anatomy
In
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...
, the prone position is a position of the
body lying face down. It is opposed to the
supine position which is face up. Using the terms defined in the
anatomical position, the ventral side is down, and the dorsal side is up.
Concerning the forearm,
prone refers to that configuration where the palm of the
hand is directed posteriorly, and the
radius
In classical geometry, a radius (plural, : radii) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The name comes from the latin ''radius'', ...
and
ulna are crossed.
Researchers observed that the expiratory reserve volume measured at relaxation volume increased from supine to prone by the factor of 0.15.
Shooting
In
competitive shooting
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
, the prone position is the position of a shooter lying face down on the ground. It is considered the easiest and most accurate position as the ground provides extra stability. It is one of the positions in
three positions
International Rifle events that occur in three positions are conducted with an equal number of shots fired from the Kneeling, Prone and Standing positions, although the order has changed over the years. Each of the three positions shot during the ...
events. For many years (1932-2016), the only purely prone
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
event was the
50 meter rifle prone; however, this has since been dropped from the Olympic program. Both men and women still have the
50 meter rifle three positions as an
Olympic shooting event. Many
video games (particularly
first-person shooter
First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the p ...
s) allow the
player character to go into the prone position.
ISSF 50 meter
Female and male shooters shoot a
.22 LR
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...
calibre ("smallbore") rifle over a course of fire of 60 shots to count in 50 minutes (when using
electronic targets). These are shot after an unlimited number of sighting shots, which must be shot during the 15-minute preparation and sighting period. If necessary, an 'elimination' course of fire may be undertaken to reduce the number of shooters to the number that may fire simultaneously in a 'qualification' round. Up until 2013, each shot could score from 0 to 10 points, with no decimal points (e.g. 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, but not 3.2 or 9.8, etc.) making the maximum score for elimination or qualification round 600 points. After 2013, shots are scored as decimal values (e.g. 9.8 rather than what would have been a 9 under integer scoring), so the maximum score from a 60 shot match is 654.0.
Up until 2018, the top eight shooters in the qualification round were selected to shoot 'shot-for-shot' in an 'Olympic' final. Prior to 2013, this consisted of ten additional shots scored to one decimal place, so the maximum possible score was 109.0. This score was then added to the score for the qualification round; this summed score was used to determine final rankings and thus medallists. Starting in the 2013 season and continuing to the beginning of the 2018 season, a new finals format was introduced, where again the top 8 shooters in the qualification round shot against each other, only this time with the qualification scored being discarded and the number of shots being raised to 24. These shots were still scored decimally, so the maximum possible score under this new format was 261.6. From January 2018, the final for this event was discarded entirely; competition rankings were determined by the score obtained in the 60 shot match only.
Fullbore Target Rifle
The non-ISSF fullbore disciplines governed by the
International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) are exclusively shot from the prone position over distances of 300yards to 1200yards. These disciplines are popular in Commonwealth countries, and are heavily influenced by the British
National Rifle Association.
Biathlon
In Biathlon, prone is one of two positions that athletes shoot from, along with standing. Shooting takes place at "knock down" targets which indicate a simple hit or miss with no scoring rings.
UK
In the UK, the
National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA) governs "smallbore" shooting with .22LR calibre rifles. "Short-range" is defined as distances between 15 yards and 25 metres 'indoors'. Targets are generally outward gauging (touching a ring on the target scores the lower of the two adjacent scores), except on some of the Schools and older targets (e.g. 5 bull targets). Being indoors, no allowance is necessary for wind, light or other changes. Shots are scored as integer values from 0 to 10, with no decimal places. "Long-range" smallbore shooting is generally over either 50 yards, 50 metres or 100 yards distance outdoors. Targets vary, but generally, the ISSF 50M (scaled) is used for 50 yards or 50 metres, and a proportionally sized target is used for 100 yards. A 50-yard, 50-metre or 100-yard target is generally constructed to allow 20 shots to count, to be executed during one 'detail' of 20 minutes duration. Sighting shots are included in that time period.
Outdoors, variables such as light, wind, temperature, humidity and mirage affect the target image and bullet trajectory. To help shooters, most ranges have wind flags placed at useful positions around the range to display the wind conditions.
Pilots
The prone position is also used to describe the way pilots and other crew may be positioned in an aircraft; lying on their stomachs rather than seated in a normal upright position. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, the
bomb aimer
A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bom ...
in some bombers would be positioned this way to be better able to view the ground through a transparent panel or bubble in the nose of a bomber. Later, it was suggested that a pilot in the prone position might be more effective in some kinds of high-speed aircraft, because it would permit the pilot to withstand a greater
''g''-force in the upward and downward direction with respect to the plane, and many speculative designs of the 1950s featured this arrangement. However, it never became mainstream, as testing revealed that the increased difficulty of operating aircraft controls in the prone position outweighed the advantages. Two examples of this approach are seen in the
Savoia-Marchetti SM.93
The Savoia-Marchetti SM.93 was an Italian dive bomber designed and produced in Italy from 1943.
Design
The SM-93 was an all-wood single-engined low-wing monoplane with retractable undercarriage. The fuselage had a monocoque structure, with a si ...
and the
Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot". Modern
hang glider
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
s are typically piloted in the prone position.
See also
*
Lying position
*
Positional asphyxia
*
Prone bike
A prone bicycle is a bicycle which places the rider in a prone position. The bottom bracket is located at the bicycle's rear; the rider lies either on a pad or in a hard-shell seat. The prone position of the rider's body can reduce aerodynamic ...
*
Proning
Proning or prone positioning is the placement of patients into a prone position so that they are lying on their front. This is used in the treatment of patients in intensive care with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It has been es ...
*
Recovery position
*
Supine position
*
Tummy time
References
Sources
{{Wiktionary, prone
Etymonline
Anatomy
Shooting positions
Human positions