vartalo

Vartalo is a Finnish noun that primarily denotes the torso or main body of a person or animal, and by extension the central part or frame of an object. The term is used in medical and everyday language to refer to the body's trunk, including the chest and abdomen, and is usually distinguished from the head and limbs. In a broader sense, vartalo can also mean the main body or form of something, such as the central mass of an object or the outline of a figure.

In art and sculpture, vartalo describes the mass, proportions, and silhouette of the central body, and is often treated as the anchor of pose and movement. The concept is important for understanding how a figure occupies space and how balance is conveyed in two- and three-dimensional representations.

In everyday Finnish, vartalo appears in phrases describing the body's shape or structure, as well as in metaphorical uses for the essential frame of a system or process. The term is a standard part of Finnish vocabulary, with dictionaries listing senses that include torso and trunk, and it is widely understood across contexts such as medicine, education, and culture.