Body Surface Area

Excerpt

Body surface area (BSA) was first used in the late 19th century when the German physiologist Karl M. Meeh formulated the first BSA formula. Meeh's weight-based formula (BSA = 12.312 x weight^2/3) was initially derived for animals and later adapted to humans. However, the formula inaccurately reflected the complex relationship between body size and physiological processes. The Du Bois and Du Bois formula was later developed by the American physician Eugene Floyd Du Bois and his wife and collaborator, Delafield Du Bois, to address this limitation. The new formula incorporated height as a variable. Initially devised to quantify metabolic rate and heat loss—key physiological parameters under investigation at the time—the Du Bois formula has since become a cornerstone in medical practice. Over the past century, the quest for precise BSA estimation has created more than 40 mathematical formulas, each based on different state variables.