Standard Anatomical Position
Because animals can change orientation with respect to their environment, and because appendages (arms, legs, tentacles, etc.) can change position with respect to the main body, it is important that positional descriptive terms refer to the organism when it is in its standard anatomical position.
Thus, all descriptions are with respect to the organism in its standard anatomical position, even when the organism in question has appendages in another position. For example, see Fig. 9, where the tentacles are curved, and therefore not in anatomical position. However, a straight position is assumed when describing the proximo-distal axis. This helps avoid confusion in terminology when referring to the same organism in different postures.
Read more about this topic: Anatomical Terms Of Location
Famous quotes containing the words standard and/or position:
“Any honest examination of the national life proves how far we are from the standard of human freedom with which we began. The recovery of this standard demands of everyone who loves this country a hard look at himself, for the greatest achievments must begin somewhere, and they always begin with the person. If we are not capable of this examination, we may yet become one of the most distinguished and monumental failures in the history of nations.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“It’s a fact that it is much more comfortable to be in the position of the person who has been offended than to be the unfortunate cause of it.”
—Barbara Walters (b. 1931)