MadSci Network: Anatomy
Query:

Re: What percentage of the body's mass is an arm and a leg?

Date: Sun Nov 20 18:25:23 2005
Posted By: Tye Morancy, Staff, Medical Physicist/Dosimetrist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Area of science: Anatomy
ID: 1132286460.An
Message:

Hello Bob,

Thank you for submitting the question.

Being a student of a few Biomechanics and Industrial Hygiene classes I 
immediately thought of a reference that would give me a ready answer.  I 
used a text I had that contained some anthropometric parameters, one of 
which was a table of mean segment weights/masses expressed as percentages 
of total body weight/mass.  First off, the text I used is called: 

Biomechanics: A Qualitative Approach for Studying Human Movement

I thought I would give you a little extra detail, in that it might 
further assist you in your determination:

Segment                Male                  Female

Upper Arm              3.25                  2.9
Forearm                1.87                  1.57
Hand                   0.65                  0.5
Total Arm              5.77                  4.97

Thigh                  10.5                  11.75
Leg                    4.75                  5.35
Foot                   1.43                  1.33
Total Leg              16.68                 18.43

I hope this helped...

Tye



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