Orientierungslagen

Orientierungslagen is a German term used in technical and scientific contexts to denote the possible spatial orientations or alignments of an object relative to a reference frame. The concept is central wherever the precise position and rotation in space matter.

In medicine and radiology, Orientierungslagen describe standard patient positions during imaging or surgery (for example supine, prone, or lateral decubitus) and the orientation of anatomical planes such as sagittal, coronal, and transverse planes. In geology and geography, the term can refer to the orientation of geological structures—their strike and dip relative to geographic north—information essential for mapping and structural interpretation.

In materials science and engineering, Orientierungslagen is used to describe the distribution of orientations of fibers, crystals, or grains, which strongly affect mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. In robotics, computer vision, and navigation, orientation positions correspond to the attitude or pose of a device or camera, commonly represented by Euler angles, rotation matrices, or quaternions.

The common thread is the explicit specification of both the orientation and the reference frame. Representations may be given in degrees or as vector quantities, and different fields adopt standard conventions for axes and zero-angles. The term is sometimes replaced by more specific words such as Lage, Ausrichtung, or Attitude depending on discipline. See also orientation, attitude, strike and dip, anatomical position.