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

It captures a moment when snakes still had hindlimbs, still retained a more lizard-like skull in some respects, and had not yet fully acquired the body plan seen in their modern descendants.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

"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

Instead, their body plan develops from the genes that acorn worms and vertebrates use to develop their heads.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2023

A set of molecular markers on a sea star’s genes determine the animal’s body plan, which includes its radial symmetry and organ structure.

From Scientific American • Nov. 3, 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