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Not to be confused with Human anatomy or Body composition (physical fitness).

The main elements that compose the human body are shown from most abundant (by mass, not by fraction of atoms) to least abundant.
Body composition may be analyzed in terms of molecular type e.g., water, protein, connective tissue, fats (or lipids), hydroxylapatite (in bones), carbohydrates (such as glycogen and glucose) and DNA. In terms of tissue type, the body may be analyzed into water, fat, muscle, bone, etc. In terms of cell type, the body contains hundreds of different types of cells, but notably, the largest number of cells contained in a human body (though not the largest mass of cells) are not human cells, but bacteria residing in the normal human gastrointestinal tract.

Contents  [hide]
1	Elements
1.1	Other elements
1.2	Elemental composition list
1.3	Periodic table
2	Molecules
3	Tissues
3.1	Composition by cell type
4	See also
5	References
Elements[edit]

Pie charts of typical human body composition by percent of mass, and by percent of atomic composition (atomic percent).
Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Only about 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. All 11 are necessary for life. The remaining elements are trace elements, of which more than a dozen are thought on the basis of good evidence to be necessary for life. All of the mass of the trace elements put together (less than 10 grams for a human body) do not add up to the body mass of magnesium, the least common of the 11 non-trace elements.

Other elements[edit]
Not all elements which are found in the human body in trace quantities play a role in life. Some of these elements are thought to be simple bystander contaminants without function (examples: caesium, titanium), while many others are thought to be active toxics, depending on amount (cadmium, mercury, radioactives). The possible utility and toxicity of a few elements at levels normally found in the body (aluminium) is debated. Functions have been proposed for trace amounts of cadmium and lead, although these are almost certainly toxic in amounts very much larger than normally found in the body. There is evidence that arsenic, an element normally considered a toxic in higher amounts, is essential in ultratrace quantities, in mammals such as rats, hamsters, and goats.[1]

Some elements (silicon, boron, nickel, vanadium) are probably needed by mammals also, but in far smaller doses. Bromine is used abundantly by some (though not all) lower organisms, and opportunistically in eosinophils in humans. One study has found bromine to be necessary to collagen IV synthesis in humans.[2] Fluorine is used by a number of plants to manufacture toxins (see that element) but in humans only functions as a local (topical) hardening agent in tooth enamel, and not in an essential biological role.[citation needed]

Elemental composition list[edit]
Main article: Dietary element
The average 70 kg (150 lb) adult human body contains approximately 7×1027 atoms and contains at least detectable traces of 60 chemical elements.[3] About 29 of these elements are thought to play an active positive role in life and health in humans.[4]

The relative amounts of each element vary by individual, mainly due to differences in the proportion of fat, muscle and bone in their body. Persons with more fat will have a higher proportion of carbon and a lower proportion of most other elements (the proportion of hydrogen will be about the same). The numbers in the table are averages of different numbers reported by different references.

The adult human body averages ~53% water. This varies substantially by age, sex, and adiposity. In a large sample of adults of all ages and both sexes, the figure for water fraction by weight was found to be 48 ±6% for females and 58 ±8% water for males.[5] Water is ~11% hydrogen by mass but ~67% hydrogen by atomic percent, and these numbers along with the complementary % numbers for oxygen in water, are the largest contributors to overall mass and atomic composition figures. Because of water content, the human body contains more oxygen by mass than any other element, but more hydrogen by atom-fraction than any element.

The elements listed below as "Essential in humans" are those listed by the (US) Food and Drug Administration as essential nutrients,[6] as well as six additional elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen (the fundamental building blocks of life on Earth), sulfur (essential to all cells) and cobalt (a necessary component of vitamin B12). Elements listed as "Possibly" or "Probably" essential are those cited by the National Research Council (United States) as beneficial to human health and possibly or probably essential.[7]

Atomic number	Element	Fraction of mass[8][9][10][11][12][13]	Mass (kg)[14]	Atomic percent	Essential in humans[15]	Negative effects of excess	Group
8	Oxygen	0.65	43	24	Yes (e.g. water, electron acceptor)[16]	Reactive oxygen species	16
6	Carbon	0.18	16	12	Yes[16] (organic compounds)		14
1	Hydrogen	0.10	7	62	Yes[16] (e.g. water)		1
7	Nitrogen	0.03	1.8	1.1	Yes[16] (e.g. DNA and amino acids)		15
20	Calcium	0.014	1.0	0.22	Yes[16][17][18] (e.g. Calmodulin and Hydroxylapatite in bones)		2
15	Phosphorus	0.011	0.78	0.22	Yes[16][17][18] (e.g. DNA and phosphorylation)	white allotrope highly toxic	15
19	Potassium	2.0×10−3	0.14	0.033	Yes[16][17] (e.g. Na+/K+-ATPase)		1
16	Sulfur	2.5×10−3	0.14	0.038	Yes[16] (e.g. Cysteine, Methionine, Biotin, Thiamine)		16
11	Sodium	1.5×10−3	0.10	0.037	Yes[17] (e.g. Na+/K+-ATPase)		1
17	Chlorine	1.5×10−3	0.095	0.024	Yes[17][18] (e.g. Cl-transporting ATPase)		17
12	Magnesium	500×10−6	0.019	0.0070	Yes[17][18] (e.g. binding to ATP and other nucleotides)		2
26	Iron*	60×10−6	0.0042	0.00067	Yes[17][18] (e.g. Hemoglobin, Cytochromes)		8
9	Fluorine	37×10−6	0.0026	0.0012	Yes (AUS, NZ),[19] No (US, EU),[20][21] Maybe (WHO)[22]	toxic in high amounts	17
30	Zinc	32×10−6	0.0023	0.00031	Yes[17][18] (e.g. Zinc finger proteins)		12
14	Silicon	20×10−6	0.0010	0.0058	Possibly[7]		14
37	Rubidium	4.6×10−6	0.00068	0.000033	No		1
38	Strontium	4.6×10−6	0.00032	0.000033	——		2
35	Bromine	2.9×10−6	0.00026	0.000030	——		17
82	Lead	1.7×10−6	0.00012	0.0000045	No	toxic	14
29	Copper	1×10−6	0.000072	0.0000104	Yes[17][18] (e.g. copper proteins)		11
13	Aluminium	870×10−9	0.000060	0.000015	No		13
48	Cadmium	720×10−9	0.000050	0.0000045	No	toxic	12
58	Cerium	570×10−9	0.000040		No
56	Barium	310×10−9	0.000022	0.0000012	No	toxic in higher amounts	2
50	Tin	240×10−9	0.000020	6.0×10−7	No		14
53	Iodine	160×10−9	0.000020	7.5×10−7	Yes[17][18] (e.g. thyroxine, triiodothyronine)		17
22	Titanium	130×10−9	0.000020		No		4
5	Boron	690×10−9	0.000018	0.0000030	Probably[7][23]		13
34	Selenium	190×10−9	0.000015	4.5×10−8	Yes[17][18]	toxic in higher amounts	16
28	Nickel	140×10−9	0.000015	0.0000015	Probably[7][23]	toxic in higher amounts	10
24	Chromium	24×10−9	0.000014	8.9×10−8	Yes[17][18]		6
25	Manganese	170×10−9	0.000012	0.0000015	Yes[17][18] (e.g. Mn-SOD)		7
33	Arsenic	260×10−9	0.000007	8.9×10−8	Possibly[1][7]	toxic in higher amounts	15
3	Lithium	31×10−9	0.000007	0.0000015	Yes (intercorrelated with the functions of several enzymes, hormones and vitamins)	toxic in higher amounts	1
80	Mercury	190×10−9	0.000006	8.9×10−8	No	toxic	12
55	Caesium	21×10−9	0.000006	1.0×10−7	No		1
42	Molybdenum	130×10−9	0.000005	4.5×10−8	Yes[17][18] (e.g. the molybdenum oxotransferases, Xanthine oxidase and Sulfite oxidase)		6
32	Germanium		5×10−6		No		14
27	Cobalt	21×10−9	0.000003	3.0×10−7	Yes (cobalamin, B12)[24][25]		9
51	Antimony	110×10−9	0.000002		No	toxic	15
47	Silver	10×10−9	0.000002		No		11
41	Niobium	1600×10−9	0.0000015		No		5
40	Zirconium	6×10−6	0.000001	3.0×10−7	No		4
57	Lanthanum	1370×10−9	8×10−7		No
52	Tellurium	120×10−9	7×10−7		No		16
31	Gallium		7×10−7		No		13
39	Yttrium		6×10−7		No		3
83	Bismuth		5×10−7		No		15
81	Thallium		5×10−7		No	highly toxic	13
49	Indium		4×10−7		No		13
79	Gold	3×10−9	2×10−7	3.0×10−7	No	uncoated nanoparticles possibly genotoxic[26][27][28]	11
21	Scandium		2×10−7		No		3
73	Tantalum		2×10−7		No		5
23	Vanadium	260×10−9	1.1×10−7	1.2×10−8	Possibly[7] (suggested osteo-metabolism (bone) growth factor)		5
90	Thorium		1×10−7		No	toxic, radioactive
92	Uranium		1×10−7	3.0×10−9	No	toxic, radioactive
62	Samarium		5.0×10−8		No
74	Tungsten		2.0×10−8		No		6
4	Beryllium		3.6×10−8	4.5×10−8	No	toxic in higher amounts	2
88	Radium		3×10−14	1×10−17	No	toxic, radioactive	2
*Iron = ~3 g in men, ~2.3 g in women

Of the 94 naturally occurring chemical elements, 60 are listed in the table above. Of the remaining 34, it is not known how many occur in the human body.

Most of the elements needed for life are relatively common in the Earth's crust. Aluminium, the third most common element in the Earth's crust (after oxygen and silicon), serves no function in living cells, but is harmful in large amounts.[29] Transferrins can bind aluminium.[30]

Periodic table[edit]
Periodic table highlighting dietary elements

H	 	He
Li	Be	 	B	C	N	O	F	Ne
Na	Mg	 	Al	Si	P	S	Cl	Ar
K	Ca	Sc		Ti	V	Cr	Mn	Fe	Co	Ni	Cu	Zn	Ga	Ge	As	Se	Br	Kr
Rb	Sr	Y		Zr	Nb	Mo	Tc	Ru	Rh	Pd	Ag	Cd	In	Sn	Sb	Te	I	Xe
Cs	Ba	La	*	Hf	Ta	W	Re	Os	Ir	Pt	Au	Hg	Tl	Pb	Bi	Po	At	Rn
Fr	Ra	Ac	**	Rf	Db	Sg	Bh	Hs	Mt	Ds	Rg	Cn	Nh	Fl	Mc	Lv	Ts	Og

 	*	Ce	Pr	Nd	Pm	Sm	Eu	Gd	Tb	Dy	Ho	Er	Tm	Yb	Lu
 	**	Th	Pa	U	Np	Pu	Am	Cm	Bk	Cf	Es	Fm	Md	No	Lr
The four organic basic elements	Quantity elements	Essential trace elements	Possible structural or functional role in mammals
Molecules[edit]
The composition of the human body is expressed in terms of chemicals:

Water
Proteins – including those of hair, connective tissue, etc.
Fats (or lipids)
Hydroxylapatite in bones
Carbohydrates such as glycogen and glucose
DNA
Dissolved inorganic ions such as sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate
Gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methanethiol. These may be dissolved or present in the gases in the lungs or intestines. Ethane and pentane are produced by oxygen free radicals.[31]
Many other small molecules, such as amino acids, fatty acids, nucleobases, nucleosides, nucleotides, vitamins, cofactors.
Free radicals such as superoxide, hydroxyl, and hydroperoxyl.
The composition of the human body can be viewed on an atomic and molecular scale as shown in this article.

The estimated gross molecular contents of a typical 20-micrometre human cell is as follows:[32]

Molecule	Percent of Mass	Mol.Weight (daltons)	Molecules	Percent of Molecules
Water	65	18	1.74×1014	98.73
Other Inorganics	1.5	N/A	1.31×1012	0.74
Lipids	12	N/A	8.4×1011	0.475
Other Organics	0.4	N/A	7.7×1010	0.044
Protein	20	N/A	1.9×1010	0.011
RNA	1.0	N/A	5×107	3×10−5
DNA	0.1	1×1011	46*	3×10−11
Tissues[edit]
Body composition can also be expressed in terms of various types of material, such as:

Muscle
Fat
Bone and teeth
Nervous tissue (Brain and nerves)
Hormones
Connective tissue
Body fluids (blood, lymph, Urine)
Contents of digestive tract, including intestinal gas
Air in lungs
Epithelium
Composition by cell type[edit]
Main article: List of distinct cell types in the adult human body
There are many species of bacteria and other microorganisms that live on or inside the healthy human body. In fact, 90% of the cells in (or on) a human body are microbes, by number[33][34] (much less by mass or volume). Some of these symbionts are necessary for our health. Those that neither help nor harm humans are called commensal organisms.

See also[edit]
List of organs of the human body
Hydrostatic weighing
Dietary element
Composition of blood
List of human blood components
Body composition
Abundance of elements in Earth's crust
Abundance of the chemical elements
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Anke M. "Arsenic". In: Mertz W. ed., Trace elements in human and Animal Nutrition, 5th ed. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 1986, 347-372; Uthus E. O., "Evidency for arsenical essentiality", Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 1992, 14:54-56; Uthus E.O., Arsenic essentiality and factors affecting its importance. In: Chappell W. R., Abernathy C. O., Cothern C. R. eds., Arsenic Exposure and Health. Northwood, UK: Science and Technology Letters, 1994, 199-208.
Jump up ^ McCall AS, Cummings CF, Bhave G, Vanacore R, Page-McCaw A, Hudson BG (2014). "Bromine Is an Essential Trace Element for Assembly of Collagen IV Scaffolds in Tissue Development and Architecture". Cell. 157 (6): 1380–92. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.009. PMC 4144415 Freely accessible. PMID 24906154.
Jump up ^ How many atoms are in the human body?
Jump up ^ "Ultratrace minerals". Authors: Nielsen, Forrest H. USDA, ARS Source: Modern nutrition in health and disease / editors, Maurice E. Shils ... et al.. Baltimore : Williams & Wilkins, c. 1999, p. 283-303. Issue Date: 1999 URI: [1]
Jump up ^ See table 1. here
Jump up ^ "Guidance for Industry: A Food Labeling Guide 14. Appendix F"
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Institute of Medicine (29 September 2006). Dietary Reference Intakes: The Essential Guide to Nutrient Requirements. National Academies Press. pp. 313–19, 415–22. ISBN 978-0-309-15742-1. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
Jump up ^ Thomas J. Glover, comp., Pocket Ref, 3rd ed. (Littleton: Sequoia, 2003), p. 324 (LCCN 2002-91021), which in
Jump up ^ turn cites Geigy Scientific Tables, Ciba-Geigy Limited, Basel, Switzerland, 1984.
Jump up ^ Chang, Raymond (2007). Chemistry, Ninth Edition. McGraw-Hill. p. 52. ISBN 0-07-110595-6.
Jump up ^ "Elemental Composition of the Human Body" by Ed Uthman, MD Retrieved 17 June 2016
Jump up ^ Frausto Da Silva, J. J. R; Williams, R. J. P (2001-08-16). "The Biological Chemistry of the Elements: The Inorganic Chemistry of Life". ISBN 9780198508489.
Jump up ^ Zumdahl, Steven S. and Susan A. (2000). Chemistry, Fifth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 894. ISBN 0-395-98581-1.)
Jump up ^ Emsley, John (25 August 2011). Nature's Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. OUP Oxford. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-19-960563-7. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
Jump up ^ Neilsen, cited
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Salm, Sarah; Allen, Deborah; Nester, Eugene; Anderson, Denise (9 January 2015). Nester's Microbiology: A Human Perspective. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-07-773093-2. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Subcommittee on the Tenth Edition of the Recommended Dietary Allowances, Food and Nutrition Board; Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council (1 February 1989). "9-10". Recommended Dietary Allowances: 10th Edition. National Academies Press. ISBN 978-0-309-04633-6. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21: Food and Drugs, Ch 1, subchapter B, Part 101, Subpart A, §101.9(c)(8)(iv)
Jump up ^ Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH)
Jump up ^ "Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Review of Fluoridation and Regulation Issues"
Jump up ^ "Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for fluoride". EFSA Journal. 11 (8): 3332. 2013. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2013.3332. ISSN 1831-4732.
Jump up ^ WHO/SDE/WSH/03.04/96 "Fluoride in Drinking-water"
^ Jump up to: a b Safe Upper Levels for Vitamins and Mineral (2003), boron p. 164-71, nickel p. 225-31, EVM, Food Standards Agency, UK ISBN 1-904026-11-7
Jump up ^ Yamada, Kazuhiro (2013). "Cobalt: Its Role in Health and Disease". Metal Ions in Life Sciences. 13: 295–320. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7500-8_9. ISSN 1559-0836.
Jump up ^ Banci, Lucia (18 April 2013). Metallomics and the Cell. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 333–368. ISBN 978-94-007-5561-1. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
Jump up ^ Fratoddi, Ilaria; Venditti, Iole; Cametti, Cesare; Russo, Maria Vittoria (2015). "How toxic are gold nanoparticles? The state-of-the-art". Nano Research. 8 (6): 1771–1799. doi:10.1007/s12274-014-0697-3. ISSN 1998-0124.
Jump up ^ "Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of gold (E 175) as a food additive". EFSA Journal. 14 (1): 4362. 2016. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4362. ISSN 1831-4732.
Jump up ^ Hillyer, Julián F.; Albrecht, Ralph M. (2001). "Gastrointestinal persorption and tissue distribution of differently sized colloidal gold nanoparticles". Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 90 (12): 1927–1936. doi:10.1002/jps.1143. ISSN 0022-3549.
Jump up ^ Aluminum Toxicity
Jump up ^ Mizutani, K.; Mikami, B.; Aibara, S.; Hirose, M. (2005). "Structure of aluminium-bound ovotransferrin at 2.15 Å resolution". Acta Crystallographica Section D. 61 (12): 1636. doi:10.1107/S090744490503266X.
Jump up ^ Douglas Fox, "The speed of life", New Scientist, No 2419, 1 November 2003.
Jump up ^ Freitas Jr., Robert A. (1999). Nanomedicine,. Landes Bioscience. Tables 3–1 & 3–2. ISBN 1-57059-680-8.
Jump up ^ Glausiusz, Josie. "Your Body Is a Planet". Retrieved 2007-09-16.
Jump up ^ Wenner, Melinda. "Humans Carry More Bacterial Cells than Human Ones". Retrieved 2010-10-09.
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