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Simple formula for the surface area of the body and a simple model for anthropometry
Author(s) -
Reading Bruce D.,
Freeman Brian
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.20047
Subject(s) - simple (philosophy) , ellipsoid , body surface area , spheroid , surface (topology) , anthropometry , body surface , body weight , volume (thermodynamics) , medicine , mathematical analysis , geometry , mathematics , surgery , geodesy , physics , thermodynamics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , in vitro , geography , epistemology
The body surface area (BSA) of any adult, when derived from the arithmetic mean of the different values calculated from four independent accepted formulae, can be expressed accurately in Système International d'Unités (SI) units by the simple equation BSA = 1/6(WH) 0.5 , where W is body weight in kg, H is body height in m, and BSA is in m 2 . This formula, which is derived in part by modeling the body as a simple solid of revolution or a prolate spheroid (i.e., a stretched ellipsoid of revolution) gives students, teachers, and clinicians a simple rule for the rapid estimation of surface area using rational units. The formula was tested independently for human subjects by using it to predict body volume and then comparing this prediction against the actual volume measured by Archimedes' principle. Clin. Anat. 18:126–130, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.