Editing Ape index (section)

{{Short description|Ratio of arm span to height}}
[[File:Da Vinci Vitruve Luc Viatour.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Vitruvian Man]]'' c. 1492 by [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. Based on proportions identified by [[Vitruvius]], the drawing shows a man where the arm span is equal to the height, giving an ape index of 1.]]

'''Ape index''', '''ape factor''',<ref name="McIver1992p5D">{{cite news | last = McIver | first = Kelly | date = September 8, 1992 | title = Rock climb jargon often tough to scale | work = [[Eugene Register-Guard]] | page = 5D | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XHwVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_usDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4969,1811872&dq=ape-factor+climbing | access-date = September 2, 2009 | archive-date = February 27, 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220227165214/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XHwVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_usDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4969,1811872&dq=ape-factor+climbing | url-status = dead }}</ref> or '''gorilla index''' is slang or jargon used to describe a measure of the ratio of an individual's [[arm span]] relative to their height.  A typical ratio is 1, as identified by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] writer, architect and engineer [[Vitruvius]] prior to 15&nbsp;BC. Vitruvius noted that a "well made man" has an arm span equal to his height, as exemplified in [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo da Vinci's]] c. 1492 drawing, the ''[[Vitruvian Man]]''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Pheasant|1996|p=7}}.</ref> In [[rock climbing]] it is believed that an ape index greater than one, where the arm span is greater than the height, provides for a competitive advantage, and some climbers have expressed the belief that exercise can result in an improved ratio, although this view is somewhat controversial.<ref name="Sagar2001p144">{{Harvnb|Sagar|2001|p=144}}.</ref>