Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator
Calculate body surface area from height and weight using the Mosteller and Du Bois formulas. Reports BSA in square meters, the value used for dosing and clinical indexing.
Calculator by Toolsloft ↗- Mosteller BSA
- 1.82 m2
- Du Bois BSA
- 1.81 m2
Body surface area is a better yardstick than weight alone for many clinical calculations, from chemotherapy dosing to indexing heart function. Enter your height and weight and this tool returns your BSA from the two most widely used formulas, Mosteller and Du Bois, so you can compare them side by side.
How this is calculated
The Mosteller formula is the square root of height in centimeters times weight in kilograms, divided by 3600. The Du Bois formula is 0.007184 times height in centimeters to the power 0.725 times weight in kilograms to the power 0.425. Both return BSA in square meters and are the standards cited in clinical references.
How to use
- Enter your height in centimeters.
- Enter your weight in kilograms.
- Read your body surface area from both the Mosteller and Du Bois formulas.
Examples
- 170 cm, 70 kg:
Mosteller 1.82 m2, Du Bois 1.81 m2 - 180 cm, 90 kg:
Mosteller 2.12 m2, Du Bois 2.10 m2
FAQ
- Which BSA formula should I use?
- Mosteller is the most common because it is simple and accurate across normal ranges. Du Bois is the older standard still cited in many texts. The two usually agree to within a few percent.
- What is an average body surface area?
- A typical adult BSA is around 1.7 square meters. Men average slightly higher and women slightly lower, and it scales with both height and weight.
- Is this a medical tool?
- It reports the standard BSA formulas for reference and education. Dosing and clinical decisions should be made by a qualified professional using the values they rely on.