Human Body Proportions
The size and shape of each person's body are genetically programmed. Body proportions refer to the ratio of different body parts. Here's what's interesting:
1. The length of outstretched arms will equal a person's height.
2. Three palms equal a foot, six palms make up one cubit, four cubits equal a person's height.
3. If you spread your legs so that the distance between them equals 1/14 of your height and raise your arms so that the tips of your middle fingers are at the level of your crown, the central point of the body, equidistant from all limbs, will be your navel.
4. The mass of the human brain is 1/46 of the total body mass (compare this to an elephant, whose brain weighs only 1/560 of its body mass).
5. Human skin averages about 2 square meters. This measurement is necessary for some medical procedures and medication dosages. To calculate skin surface area, doctors use the formula: body surface area equals (body weight x 4) + 7.
6. Head proportions are determined as follows: encircle the frontal part of the head with the middle and thumb fingers. If the width of the head from one temple to the other matches the distance between the tips of your fingers, the head proportions are correct.
7. Nail size should correspond to the size of the fingers, occupying about 50% of the upper phalanx area, and the length should exceed the width by 10%. The growth of a nail in one month ranges from 2.5 to 4 mm, depending on age and health.
8. A nail takes 4 to 5 months to fully grow out.
9. The distance from the top of the chest to the crown is 1/6 of a person's height.
10. The distance from the elbow to the fingertips is 1/5 of a person's height.
11. According to Polyclitus's canons, the circumference of a woman's waist should be twice the circumference of her neck. The circumference of the calf should match the neck, and the circumference of the thigh should be one and a half times the circumference of the calf. The distance from the heels to the waist should relate to the body's length as 2:3. Classical antique statues were created with these proportions in mind.
