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Home > Professional Reference > Body Surface Area Calculator (Mosteller)

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Body Surface Area Calculator (Mosteller)

This PatientPlus article is written for healthcare professionals so the language may be more technical than the condition leaflets. You may find the abbreviations list helpful.

BSA Calculator (Mosteller Method)
Height (cm)
Weight (kg)
Body Surface Area (m2)

Mosteller Method:1,2 BSA (m2) = ( Height(cm) x Weight(kg) / 3600 )½

e.g. BSA (m2) = squareroot of (height (cm)x weight (kg)/3600)

See also our dedicated record on the subject of Sunburn.

Document references

  1. Halls BSA web calculator; (more extensive calculator which can use other equations)
  2. Mosteller RD. Simplified Calculation of Body Surface Area. N Engl J Med. 1987 Oct 22;317(17):1098. (letter)

Acknowledgements

EMIS is grateful to Dr Huw Thomas for writing this article. The final copy has passed scrutiny by the independent Mentor GP reviewing team. ©EMIS 2010.
Document ID: 1876
Document Version: 24
Document Reference: bgp24931
Last Updated: 1 Jun 2009
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