Approximately, how many liters of blood does the average human body contain?

Scientists estimate the volume of blood in a human body to be approximately 7 percent of body weight. An average adult body with a weight of 150 to 180 pounds will contain approximately 4.7 to 5.5 liters (1.2 to 1.5 gallons) of blood. An average child with a body weight of 80 pounds will have approximately half the amount of blood as an adult.

Interestingly, people who live at high altitudes may have up to two liters of extra blood compared to those who live at lower altitudes. Because the air at higher altitudes has less oxygen, people who live at high altitudes need extra blood to deliver the right amount of oxygen to their lungs.

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31 Comments

Stevie G

Keith Hodgson, Not only does the author same approximately they also say the average human. Just accept the answer is right and you got it wrong.

George Oliver Prince

Quiz club is about adding to our knowledge, and if they use liters or litres we can learn something new, that's why I'm on here

Kylie Morris

Not everything is about America, people from other countries play too.

Ed Taber

Drew Johnson, Actually anybody doing 'Science' uses the Metric System. Even booze now comes in 750 Ml. bottles.

fdeisner

I first learned this fact in grade school, in the early to mid 1960s, by watching a film named Hemo the Magnificent which was an animated movie which my teacher showed on a projector which used film. Just out of curiosity I look up the title on IMDb and it was listed. It received 7.5 out of 10 Stars, received a Primetime Emmy and had Mel Blanc doing several voices along with Sterling Holloway who was an old time actor. IMDb described it as: An animated documentary about blood and the circulatory system. It was one of a series on bodily systems. It brought me way back

Wendy Petty

The question requires we know what the average worldwide human weight is then know how much blood that body would have. Few countries actually have an average worldwide weight/ size. A bit of research show the average 'human' size is as indicated. As a blood donor and a first aider I know how much blood I have, and most of the population of the country I live in which is the basis of my knowledge. In fact your surroundings form the major part of your knowledge base in most contexts. There is an obvious flaw in the question, being who knows the 'worldwide' average. Yes I didn't guess the answer as I am a 210lb male. I knew my volume.

Linda Stegall

In nursing we use liters for blood volume.

Richard S. Levine

Drew Johnson, Guess you don't buy 2 liter soda bottles at ALL US stores.

Russ Audet

Charles Nath, America is comprised of 2 continents, North and South

David L Morehead

Drew Johnson, Except some of us do litres of cola, here in the USA

maria feltner

5 liters, except if you are on high altitude

Debra Jenkins

Cheryl Perkins, As blood is liquid it is measured in litres (or pints for imperial measurement). There are approx 8 pints of blood in the human body, equivalent to 5 litres.