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Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator

Compute Body Surface Area in m² using 5 published formulas (Mosteller, Du Bois, Haycock, Boyd, Gehan-George) — used in chemotherapy dosing and cardiac index.

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Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator

Generated on April 25, 2026

Body Surface Area (average of 5 formulas)
1.849 m²
Formula comparison
Du Bois (1916)1.848 m²
Mosteller (1987)1.845 m²
Haycock (1978)1.847 m²
Boyd (1935)1.851 m²
Gehan & George (1970)1.854 m²
Body silhouette (scaled)
Weight
70 kg
Height
175 cm
vs 1.73 m²
107%

Step-by-step calculation

Formula

Mosteller: BSA = √((w × h) / 3600). Du Bois: BSA = 0.007184 × w^0.425 × h^0.725. (w in kg, h in cm.)

  1. 1Weight: 70.00 kg, height: 175.0 cm.
  2. 2Mosteller (most-used in clinical practice): √(70.00 × 175.0 / 3600) = 1.8447 m².
  3. 3Du Bois (oldest, 1916, used in cardiology): 1.8481 m².
  4. 4Average across all 5 formulas: 1.8488 m².
  5. 5BSA is widely used to dose chemotherapy, calculate cardiac index, and normalize physiological measurements across body sizes.
Clinical use: Body Surface Area is the standard for chemotherapy dosing (mg/m²), cardiac index (L/min/m²), and renal function normalization (eGFR/1.73 m²). Mosteller is the most-used formula in modern clinical practice — simple to compute, accurate within ±5% of the others. For accurate medical dosing, always defer to your physician's preferred formula.

?What is the Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator?

The Body Surface Area (BSA) Calculator computes the surface area of the human body in square metres — the standard unit for normalizing physiological measurements across body sizes. BSA is the basis for chemotherapy dosing (mg/m²), cardiac index (cardiac output / BSA in L/min/m²), and renal function reporting (eGFR/1.73 m²). Five published formulas are computed simultaneously and averaged: Mosteller (1987 — most-used clinically), Du Bois (1916 — oldest, cardiology), Haycock (1978 — pediatrics), Boyd (1935), and Gehan-George (1970 — chemotherapy origin). All five agree within 5% for typical adult body sizes.

The Formula

Mosteller: BSA = √((weight_kg × height_cm) / 3600). Du Bois: 0.007184 × W^0.425 × H^0.725. Average of all 5 typically within 5%.

Practical Examples

1

70 kg, 175 cm: Mosteller gives 1.84 m² (the standard BSA value used in clinical references).

2

Average adult woman (60 kg, 165 cm): ~1.65 m².

3

Average adult man (75 kg, 180 cm): ~1.94 m².

4

Chemotherapy dose for cyclophosphamide: 600 mg/m² → 1,104 mg for a 1.84 m² patient.

5

Cardiac index in healthy adults: 2.5-4.0 L/min/m² (cardiac output ÷ BSA).

Frequently Asked Questions

Mosteller is the modern clinical default — simple, accurate, and recommended by most pharmacology references for chemotherapy dosing. Du Bois is still common in cardiology. Haycock is preferred for children. For most purposes, the differences are clinically insignificant.

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