How to Find My Body Area in Centimeters Square

Body Surface Area (BSA) is an important factor in calculating drug dosage.

Body Surface Area (BSA) is an important calculation used in drug dosing and measures the actual surface area of the skin on your body. BSA is also used by doctors to determine the amount of IV fluids to be administered. There are a number of different ways to calculate BSA; however the Mosteller formula is most commonly used due to the simplicity of the formula. The average BSA is considered to be 1.7 meters squared, or 17,000 centimeters squared.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

Instructions

Calculating BSA in centimeters squared

1. Determine your weight in kilograms. If you can only weigh yourself in pounds, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.

2. Determine your height in centimeters. To convert from inches, multiply by 2.54.

3. Multiply your height in centimeters by your weight in kilograms, then divide the product by 3600, which can be represented by (weight [kg] x height [cm] / 3600).

4. Take the square root of the value in Step 3, which will give you your BSA in meters squared. Multiply this area by 10,000 in order to obtain your BSA in centimeters squared.

Tips & Warnings

• The Mosteller formula is not completely accurate, but is favored for its simplicity.

References

• CRAB: Body Surface Area calculator
• Medterms: Body Surface Area explained
• Online Conversion: Area converter tool