body plan
Organism's structural layout
Body plan refers to the fundamental structural organization of an organism—how its parts are arranged and relate to each other.
In biology, it describes features like symmetry, segmentation, and the layout of organs that define major animal groups: Insects and lobsters share the same basic body plan.
The term also appears in architecture and design for spatial layouts.
Division into sections
- radial symmetryArrangement around central axis
- bilateral symmetryEqual halves along midline
- coelomMesoderm-lined internal space
- appendagesProjecting body parts
notochord · exoskeleton · endoskeleton · hydrostatic skeleton · tube feet
Formation of early life
- gastrulationEmbryo forms primary layers
- organogenesisEmbryonic tissue becoming structures
- morphogenesisDevelopmental shape emergence
- gene expressionDNA to functional product
patterning · polarity · induction · cell fate · growth patterns
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- Cambrian explosionSudden appearance of complex life
- convergent evolutionIndependent origin of similar features
- homologyStructural similarity through descent
- analogyExplanatory likeness between things
common ancestor · fossil record · cladistics · macroevolution · Burgess Shale · extinction · speciation
Uppermost body part
- torsoBody without limbs
- limbsBody's major appendages
- trunkMain stem or storage
- abdomenTorso's lower cavity
thorax · appendages · segments · anterior · posterior · dorsal · ventral · proximal
Involving two parties
- radialEmanating from center
- asymmetricalNot equal on both sides
- mirror symmetryCongruence through reflection
- rotational symmetryInvariance under angular displacement
segmentation
Division into sections
- radial symmetryArrangement around central axis
- bilateral symmetryEqual halves along midline
- coelomMesoderm-lined internal space
appendages · notochord · exoskeleton · endoskeleton · hydrostatic skeleton · tube feet
embryogenesis
Formation of early life
- gastrulationEmbryo forms primary layers
- organogenesisEmbryonic tissue becoming structures
- morphogenesisDevelopmental shape emergence
gene expression · patterning · polarity · induction · cell fate · growth patterns
phylogeny
Evolutionary relationships among organisms
- Cambrian explosionSudden appearance of complex life
- convergent evolutionIndependent origin of similar features
- homologyStructural similarity through descent
analogy · common ancestor · fossil record · cladistics · macroevolution · Burgess Shale · extinction · speciation
head
Uppermost body part
abdomen · thorax · appendages · segments · anterior · posterior · dorsal · ventral · proximal · distal
bilateral
Involving two parties
- radialEmanating from center
- asymmetricalNot equal on both sides
- mirror symmetryCongruence through reflection
- formshape, structure, format, configuration, pattern
- developmental biologymorphogenesis, embryogenesis, gastrulation, organogenesis, ectoderm
- evo-devoHox genes, gene regulation, serial homology, evolvability, modularity
- developmentgrowth, progress, advancement, expansion, improvement
- anatomybrain, heart, bones, liver, stomach
- biological organizationcell, organ, tissue, organism, organ system