Calculate your body surface area using Du Bois & Mosteller formulas
Unit System
Your Measurements
Result
Average BSA
1.846 m²
Typical adult rangeFormula Breakdown
| Formula | BSA (m²) | Equation |
|---|---|---|
| Du Bois | 1.8481 | 0.007184 × H0.725 × W0.425 |
| Mosteller | 1.8447 | √(H × W / 3600) |
| Average | 1.8464 | (Du Bois + Mosteller) / 2 |
Clinical Context
For educational purposes only. Not a substitute for professional medical advice.
The body surface area (BSA) calculator estimates the total skin surface area of the human body using your height and weight. BSA is a critical metric in clinical medicine — oncologists use it to calculate chemotherapy doses, cardiologists use it to normalize cardiac output, and nephrologists apply it when estimating glomerular filtration rate. This tool supports both the classic Du Bois and the widely-used Mosteller formula.
BSA is used clinically to dose medications — especially chemotherapy drugs — more accurately than body weight alone. It is also used to calculate cardiac index (cardiac output per m² of BSA) and to normalize kidney function metrics like GFR. The average adult BSA is about 1.7–1.9 m².
The Du Bois formula (1916) is the historical gold standard: BSA = 0.007184 × H^0.725 × W^0.425. The Mosteller formula (1987) is simpler and widely used in clinical practice: BSA = √(H × W / 3600). Both give very similar results for average adults; the Mosteller formula is slightly higher for heavier individuals.
A typical adult female has a BSA of approximately 1.6 m², while a typical adult male is around 1.9 m². Values between 1.6 and 2.0 m² are considered the normal adult range. BSA varies with body size and is lower in children and smaller adults.
Yes. Because BSA depends on both height and weight, changes in body weight directly affect your BSA value. However, BSA is less sensitive to weight changes than BMI — a 10 kg gain in a 70 kg adult changes BSA by roughly 3–4%, whereas it shifts BMI proportionally more.