body plan

American  

noun

1. Biology. the basic shape of members of an animal phylum; the general structure each individual organism assumes as it develops.

2. Naval Architecture. a diagrammatic elevation of a hull, consisting of an end view of the bow on one side of the center line and an end view of the stern on the other side, marked with water lines, diagonals, bow or buttock lines, stations, and sometimes details of the hull.

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Etymology

Origin of body plan

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Our basic body plan is determined early during embryonic development by the formation of three body axes.

From Science Daily • Jun. 18, 2024

"The formation of these centralized Golgi ribbons occurs just before gastrulation, which is the developmental stage at which the embryos establish the fate of different tissues and the body plan of the animal," says Ferraro.

From Science Daily • Feb. 29, 2024

Echinoderms like starfish have a five-fold body plan but, mysteriously, still must have evolved from ancestors with two-fold body plans.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2023

“It seems the whole echinoderm body plan is roughly equivalent to the head in other groups of animals,” study co-author Jeff Thompson of University of Southampton said in a release from that British school.

From Washington Times • Nov. 2, 2023

It might seem intuitive for an embryologist to approach the problem of genesis forward—from the earliest events in the embryo to the development of a body plan of a full-fledged organism.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee