What does BSA stand for?

• A. Body Substance Isolation
• B. Body Surface Area
• C. Chief Complaint
• D. Discharge

Answer: (B)

Body Surface Area is what BSA stands for and is a measure used in medicine to estimate the whole body's surface area, usually in square meters. It matters because many drug dosages and burn assessments are based on surface area, not weight alone, since metabolic rate and distribution can correlate better with surface area. A common way to estimate it is with the Mosteller formula: sqrt(height_cm × weight_kg / 3600), which yields a value in square meters. The other phrases—Body Substance Isolation, Chief Complaint, and Discharge—refer to different concepts, so they are not the intended meaning of this acronym in a clinical context.