Poisson's ratio is the lateral contraction per unit breadth divided by the longitudinal extension per unit length.
But A is proportional to the square of the length, i.e. a square has area, A = l2, where l is side length, or a circle has area [itex]\pi[/itex]r2, where r is radius.
Now looking in three dimensions, if lx and ly contract by [itex]\nu\,(\frac{\Delta{l_z}}{l_z})[/itex] then the new lengths are
lx([itex]1 - \nu (\frac{\Delta{l_z}}{l_z})[/itex]) and ly([itex]1 - \nu (\frac{\Delta{l_z}}{l_z})[/itex]),
and the Area is then given by the product. If Ao = lx ly, then the new area is
A = Ao * ([itex]1 - \nu\,\frac{\Delta{l_z}}{l_z}[/itex])2
and dA = A - Ao, which defines dA.