Body proportions a series of continuous geometric progressions. Polykleitos uses the distal phalanx of the little finger as the basic module for determining the proportions of the human body, scaling this length up repeatedly by to obtain the ideal size of the other phalanges, the hand, forearm, and upper arm in turn. Leonardo da Vinci believed that the ideal human proportions were determined by the harmonious proportions that he believed governed the universe, such that the ideal man would fit cleanly into a circle as depicted in his famed drawing of "Vitruvian man". Body proportions While there is significant variation in anatomical
Standard anatomical position Frankfurt plane with the mandibular plane. For dogs, the standard anatomical position is having the abdomen ventral by each paw standing on the supporting surface. Standard anatomical position Because animals can change orientation with respect to their environment, and because appendages (arms, legs, tentacles, "etc.") can change position with respect to the main body, it is important that anatomical terms of location refer to the organism when it is in its standard anatomical position. Thus, "all descriptions are with respect to the organism in its standard anatomical position", even when the organism in question has appendages in another position. However,