According to Leonardo's notes in the accompanying text, written in mirror writing, it was made as a study of the proportions of the (male) human body as described in Vitruvius:
- a palm is the width of four fingers
- a foot is the width of four palms (i.e., 12 inches)
- a cubit is the width of six palms
- a pace is four cubits
- a man's height is four cubits (and thus 24 palms)
- the length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height
- the distance from the hairline to the bottom of the chin is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin is one-eighth of a man's height
- the distance from the bottom of the neck to the hairline is one-sixth of a man's height
- the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the elbow to the armpit is one-eighth of a man's height
- the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
- the distance from the bottom of the chin to the nose is one-third of the length of the head
- the distance from the hairline to the eyebrows is one-third of the length of the face
- the length of the ear is one-third of the length of the face
- the length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height
