Standard anatomical position Standard anatomical position is rigidly defined for human anatomy. In standard anatomical position, the human body is standing erect and at rest. Unlike the situation in other vertebrates, the limbs are placed in positions reminiscent of the supine position imposed on cadavers during autopsy. Therefore, the body has its feet together (or slightly separated), and its arms are rotated outward so that the palms are forward, and the thumbs are pointed away from the body (forearms supine). As well, the arms are usually moved slightly out from the body, so that the hands do not touch the sides. The positions
Anatomical fugitive sheet survived. Jean Ruel, a French botanist and physician, published his own anatomical sheets in 1539. Andreas Vesalius published his anatomical work on the human body, ""De humani corporis fabrica"", four years later in 1543. His ""Tabulae anatomicae sex"" had appeared in 1538 showing skeletons and viscera, and differ substantially from the Ruel plates. Thomas Geminus, a pseudonym for Thomas Lambrit, was another engraver and printer, who freely copied the anatomical drawings of Vesalius, a practice which infuriated him into denouncing 'extremely inept imitators'. Geminus did however redraw and rearrange Vesalius' woodcut illustrations, choosing to use engraved copperplates, with which he