Body Surface Area
Calculate BSA using Du Bois and Mosteller formulas.
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How This Body Surface Area Works
This calculator uses established scientific formulas validated in peer-reviewed literature. All calculations run locally in your browser — no data is sent to any server.
Average BSA by Height/Weight
| Height | Weight | BSA (m²) |
|---|---|---|
| 5'4" (163cm) | 130 lbs (59kg) | 1.63 |
| 5'7" (170cm) | 150 lbs (68kg) | 1.78 |
| 5'10" (178cm) | 170 lbs (77kg) | 1.93 |
| 6'0" (183cm) | 190 lbs (86kg) | 2.08 |
| 6'2" (188cm) | 210 lbs (95kg) | 2.21 |
BSA is critical for medication dosing, especially chemotherapy. Track related metrics with BMI and lean body mass.
Why Medicine Uses BSA Over Body Weight
Body surface area correlates more closely with metabolic rate, cardiac output, and renal clearance than body weight alone. A 200-pound person with 30% body fat metabolizes drugs very differently than a 200-pound person with 15% body fat, even though they weigh the same. BSA captures this difference because it accounts for height (which correlates with lean mass) in addition to weight.
This is particularly critical in oncology, where chemotherapy drugs have narrow therapeutic windows — too little is ineffective, too much causes severe toxicity. BSA-based dosing is also used for determining maintenance fluid rates (the Parkland formula for burns), cardiac index calculations (cardiac output divided by BSA), and pediatric drug dosing where weight-based formulas can be unreliable.
Du Bois vs Mosteller
The Du Bois formula (1916) was derived from only 9 subjects but has proven remarkably durable. The Mosteller formula (1987) was designed as a simplified approximation — it's a single square root operation that can be done with a basic calculator. Both produce results within 2-3% of each other for most adults. In clinical practice, the Mosteller formula has largely replaced Du Bois due to its simplicity, though some institutions still use Du Bois as their standard.
For a broader understanding of your body metrics, combine BSA with BMI, lean body mass, body fat percentage, and body type classification. These measurements together provide a comprehensive body composition profile.
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