The use of prone ventilation is an option for patients with impaired ventilation, especially those presenting with oxygenation dysfunction, including the reasonable use of end-expiratory positive pressure ventilation for assisted breathing with respiratory exercise, regardless of the various causes of pulmonary edema, and still failing to reduce FiO2 below 60%. In the early stages of acute respiratory failure with lung injury, prone ventilation can be used even in the absence of severe combined oxygenation dysfunction. Prone ventilation is contraindicated for unstable blood flow, intracranial hypertension, acute bleeding, spinal injuries, orthopedic surgery, recent abdominal surgery, and women who are expecting.