Composition of the human body - wikipedia Composition of the human body 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 1 Major, minor and trace elements 2 Other elements and questionable human - required elements 3 Elemental composition list 4 Other elements 4.1 Noble gases 4.2 Lanthanides 4.3 Platinum group metals ( PGMs ) 5 Essential elements on the periodic table 6 Composition by molecule type 7 Materials and tissues 8 Composition by cell type 9 See also 10 References Major, minor and trace elements 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 and questionable human - required elements 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. 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. 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. Elemental composition list Main article : Dietary element The average 70 kg ( 150 lb ) adult human body contains approximately 7027700000000000000 ♠ 7 × 10 atoms and contains at least detectable traces of 60 chemical elements. About 29 of these elements are thought to play an active positive role in life and health in humans. 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. 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 nutritients, 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 B ). 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. Atomic number Element Fraction of mass Mass ( kg ) Atomic percent Essential in humans Negative effects of excess Group 8 Oxygen 0.65 43 24 Yes ( e.g. water, electron acceptor ) Reactive oxygen species 16 6 Carbon 0.18 16 12 Yes ( organic compounds ) 14 Hydrogen 0.10 7 62 Yes ( e.g. water ) 7 Nitrogen 0.03 1.8 1.1 Yes ( e.g. DNA and amino acids ) 15 20 Calcium 0.014 1.0 0.22 Yes ( e.g. Calmodulin and Hydroxylapatite in bones ) 15 Phosphorus 0.011 0.78 0.22 Yes ( e.g. DNA and phosphorylation ) white allotrope highly toxic 15 19 Potassium 6997200000000000000 ♠ 2.0 × 10 0.14 0.033 Yes ( e.g. Na / K - ATPase ) 16 Sulfur 6997250000000000000 ♠ 2.5 × 10 0.14 0.038 Yes ( e.g. Cysteine, Methionine, Biotin, Thiamine ) 16 11 Sodium 6997150000000000000 ♠ 1.5 × 10 0.10 0.037 Yes ( e.g. Na / K - ATPase ) 17 Chlorine 6997150000000000000 ♠ 1.5 × 10 0.095 0.024 Yes ( e.g. Cl - transporting ATPase ) 17 12 Magnesium 6996500000000000000 ♠ 500 × 10 0.019 0.0070 Yes ( e.g. binding to ATP and other nucleotides ) 26 Iron * 6995600000000000000 ♠ 60 × 10 0.0042 0.00067 Yes ( e.g. Hemoglobin, Cytochromes ) 8 9 Fluorine 6995370000000000000 ♠ 37 × 10 0.0026 0.0012 Yes ( AUS, NZ ), No ( US, EU ), Maybe ( WHO ) toxic in high amounts 17 30 Zinc 6995320000000000000 ♠ 32 × 10 0.0023 0.00031 Yes ( e.g. Zinc finger proteins ) 12 14 Silicon 6995199999999999999 ♠ 20 × 10 0.0010 0.0058 Possibly 14 37 Rubidium 6994459999999999999 ♠ 4.6 × 10 0.00068 0.000033 No 38 Strontium 6994459999999999999 ♠ 4.6 × 10 0.00032 0.000033 -- -- 35 Bromine 6994290000000000000 ♠ 2.9 × 10 0.00026 0.000030 -- -- 17 82 Lead 6994169999999999999 ♠ 1.7 × 10 0.00012 0.0000045 No toxic 14 29 Copper 6994100000000000000 ♠ 1 × 10 0.000072 0.0000104 Yes ( e.g. copper proteins ) 11 13 Aluminium 6993870000000000000 ♠ 870 × 10 0.000060 0.000015 No 13 48 Cadmium 6993720000000000000 ♠ 720 × 10 0.000050 0.0000045 No toxic 12 58 Cerium 6993570000000000000 ♠ 570 × 10 0.000040 No 56 Barium 6993310000000000000 ♠ 310 × 10 0.000022 0.0000012 No toxic in higher amounts 50 Tin 6993240000000000000 ♠ 240 × 10 0.000020 6993600000000000000 ♠ 6.0 × 10 No 14 53 Iodine 6993160000000000000 ♠ 160 × 10 0.000020 6993750000000000000 ♠ 7.5 × 10 Yes ( e.g. thyroxine, triiodothyronine ) 17 22 Titanium 6993130000000000000 ♠ 130 × 10 0.000020 No 5 Boron 6993690000000000000 ♠ 690 × 10 0.000018 0.0000030 Probably 13 34 Selenium 6993190000000000000 ♠ 190 × 10 0.000015 6992450000000000000 ♠ 4.5 × 10 Yes toxic in higher amounts 16 28 Nickel 6993140000000000000 ♠ 140 × 10 0.000015 0.0000015 Probably toxic in higher amounts 10 24 Chromium 6992240000000000000 ♠ 24 × 10 0.000014 6992890000000000000 ♠ 8.9 × 10 Yes 6 25 Manganese 6993170000000000000 ♠ 170 × 10 0.000012 0.0000015 Yes ( e.g. Mn - SOD ) 7 33 Arsenic 6993260000000000000 ♠ 260 × 10 0.000007 6992890000000000000 ♠ 8.9 × 10 Possibly toxic in higher amounts 15 Lithium 6992310000000000000 ♠ 31 × 10 0.000007 0.0000015 Yes ( intercorrelated with the functions of several enzymes, hormones and vitamins ) toxic in higher amounts 80 Mercury 6993190000000000000 ♠ 190 × 10 0.000006 6992890000000000000 ♠ 8.9 × 10 No toxic 12 55 Caesium 6992210000000000000 ♠ 21 × 10 0.000006 6993100000000000000 ♠ 1.0 × 10 No 42 Molybdenum 6993130000000000000 ♠ 130 × 10 0.000005 6992450000000000000 ♠ 4.5 × 10 Yes ( e.g. the molybdenum oxotransferases, Xanthine oxidase and Sulfite oxidase ) 6 32 Germanium 6994499999999999999 ♠ 5 × 10 No 14 27 Cobalt 6992210000000000000 ♠ 21 × 10 0.000003 6993300000000000000 ♠ 3.0 × 10 Yes ( cobalamin, B ) 9 51 Antimony 6993110000000000000 ♠ 110 × 10 0.000002 No toxic 15 47 Silver 6992100000000000000 ♠ 10 × 10 0.000002 No 11 41 Niobium 6994160000000000000 ♠ 1600 × 10 0.0000015 No 5 40 Zirconium 6994600000000000000 ♠ 6 × 10 0.000001 6993300000000000000 ♠ 3.0 × 10 No 57 Lanthanum 6994137000000000000 ♠ 1370 × 10 6993800000000000000 ♠ 8 × 10 No 52 Tellurium 6993120000000000000 ♠ 120 × 10 6993700000000000000 ♠ 7 × 10 No 16 31 Gallium 6993700000000000000 ♠ 7 × 10 No 13 39 Yttrium 6993600000000000000 ♠ 6 × 10 No 83 Bismuth 6993500000000000000 ♠ 5 × 10 No 15 81 Thallium 6993500000000000000 ♠ 5 × 10 No highly toxic 13 49 Indium 6993400000000000000 ♠ 4 × 10 No 13 79 Gold 6991300000000000000 ♠ 3 × 10 6993200000000000000 ♠ 2 × 10 6993300000000000000 ♠ 3.0 × 10 No uncoated nanoparticles possibly genotoxic 11 21 Scandium 6993200000000000000 ♠ 2 × 10 No 73 Tantalum 6993200000000000000 ♠ 2 × 10 No 5 23 Vanadium 6993260000000000000 ♠ 260 × 10 6993110000000000000 ♠ 1.1 × 10 6992120000000000000 ♠ 1.2 × 10 Possibly ( suggested osteo - metabolism ( bone ) growth factor ) 5 90 Thorium 6993100000000000000 ♠ 1 × 10 No toxic, radioactive 92 Uranium 6993100000000000000 ♠ 1 × 10 6991300000000000000 ♠ 3.0 × 10 No toxic, radioactive 62 Samarium 6992500000000000000 ♠ 5.0 × 10 No 74 Tungsten 6992200000000000000 ♠ 2.0 × 10 No 6 Beryllium 6992360000000000000 ♠ 3.6 × 10 6992450000000000000 ♠ 4.5 × 10 No toxic in higher amounts 88 Radium 6986300000000000000 ♠ 3 × 10 6983100000000000000 ♠ 1 × 10 No toxic, radioactive * Iron = ~ 3 g in men, ~ 2.3 g in women 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. Transferrins can bind aluminium. Other elements 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. For some of these elements, numbers for concentrations in various tissues or organs is available, typically from studies involving small population sample sizes. Noble gases Concentration of noble gases in whole blood. Atomic number Element Fraction of volume Atomic percent Positive health role in mammals Negative effects of excess Group Helium 6992370000000000000 ♠ 3.7 × 10 asphyxiant 18 10 Neon 6993137999999999999 ♠ 1.38 × 10 asphyxiant 18 18 Argon 6996229999999999999 ♠ 2.3 × 10 asphyxiant 18 36 Krypton 6993550000000000000 ♠ 5.5 × 10 asphyxiant 18 54 Xenon 6991969999999999999 ♠ 9.7 × 10 asphyxiant 18 86 Radon * 6981699999999999999 ♠ 7 × 10 highly radioactive 18 * hypothetical value for radon based on 10 Bq / m and 0.4 blood / air partition coefficient. Lanthanides Of the seventeen rare - earth elements ( REEs ), fifteen belong to the lanthanide series. The other two, scandium and yttrium, are listed in the table above, as are three lanthanides : lanthanum, cerium, and samarium. Of the remaining twelve lanthanides, eleven are listed below. No information is available regarding the remaining lanthanide, the highly radioactive promethium. Concentration of rare - earth elements / lanthanides in blood serum. Atomic number Element g / ml blood serum Atomic percent Positive health role in mammals Negative effects of excess Group 59 Praseodymium 6989110000000000000 ♠ 11 × 10 low to moderate toxicity n / a 60 Neodymium 6989337000000000000 ♠ 33.7 × 10 low to moderate toxicity n / a 63 Europium 6989820000000000000 ♠ 82 × 10 comparable to other heavy metals n / a 64 Gadolinium 6988720000000000000 ♠ 7.2 × 10 free ions highly toxic n / a 65 Terbium 6988130000000000000 ♠ 1.3 × 10 low to moderate toxicity n / a 66 Dysprosium 6988960000000000000 ♠ 9.6 × 10 mildly toxic when ingested n / a 67 Holmium 6988255000000000000 ♠ 2.55 × 10 low acute toxicity n / a 68 Erbium 6988950000000000000 ♠ 9.5 × 10 low to moderate toxicity n / a 69 Thulium 6988169000000000000 ♠ 1.69 × 10 soluble salts slightly toxic in large amounts n / a 70 Ytterbium 6989132000000000000 ♠ 13.2 × 10 all compounds highly toxic n / a 71 Lutetium 6988246000000000000 ♠ 2.46 × 10 oxide powder is toxic n / a Platinum group metals ( pgms ) Concentration of platinum group metals in the blood. Atomic number Element g / ml whole blood g / ml blood serum Positive health role in mammals Negative effects of excess Group 44 Ruthenium 6989540000000000000 ♠ 54 × 10 -- n / a 45 Rhodium 6988900000000000000 ♠ 9 × 10 -- n / a 46 Palladium 6989500000000000000 ♠ 50 × 10 -- small particles dissolve in biological media ( gastric juice, blood serum ) - long - term effects unknown n / a 76 Osmium -- 6987400000000000000 ♠ 400 × 10 -- 6987800000000000000 ♠ 800 × 10 oxidizes to highly poisonous Osmium tetroxide n / a 77 Iridium 6987300000000000000 ♠ 300 × 10 -- n / a 78 Platinum < 6987800000000000000 ♠ 800 × 10 -- 6988690000000000000 ♠ 6.9 × 10 -- n / a Essential elements on the periodic table Periodic table highlighting dietary elements He Li Be Ne Na Mg Al Si Cl Ar 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 Xe Cs Ba La * Hf Ta 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 Composition by molecule type 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. 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 : Molecule Percent of Mass Mol. Weight ( daltons ) Molecules Percent of Molecules Water 65 18 7014174000000000000 ♠ 1.74 × 10 98.73 Other Inorganics 1.5 N / A 7012131000000000000 ♠ 1.31 × 10 0.74 Lipids 12 N / A 7011840000000000000 ♠ 8.4 × 10 0.475 Other Organics 0.4 N / A 7010770000000000000 ♠ 7.7 × 10 0.044 Protein 20 N / A 7010190000000000000 ♠ 1.9 × 10 0.011 RNA 1.0 N / A 7007500000000000000 ♠ 5 × 10 6995300000000000000 ♠ 3 × 10 DNA 0.1 7011100000000000000 ♠ 1 × 10 46 * 6989300000000000000 ♠ 3 × 10 Materials and tissues 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 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 ( 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 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 ^ Jump up to : 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. 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Periodic table Periodic table forms Standard 18 - column 18 - column, large cells 32 - column, large cells Alternative Alternatives Chemical Galaxy Janet 's left step table Extended Extension beyond the 7th period Fricke model large cells Pyykkö model Sets of elements By periodic table structure Groups 1 ( Alkali metals ) 2 ( Alkaline earth metals ) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 ( Pnictogens ) 16 ( Chalcogens ) 17 ( Halogens ) 18 ( Noble gases ) Periods 5 6 7 8 + Aufbau Fricke Pyykkö Blocks s - block p - block d - block f - block g - block Aufbau principle By metallicity Metals Alkali metals Alkaline earth metals Lanthanides Actinides Superactinides Eka - superactinides Transition metals Post-transition metals Metalloids Lists of metalloids by source Dividing line Nonmetals Polyatomic nonmetals Diatomic nonmetals Noble gases Other sets Nutritional elements Platinum - group metals ( PGM ) Rare - earth elements Refractory metals Precious metals Coinage metals Noble metal Heavy metals Native metals Transuranium elements Transactinide elements Major actinides Minor actinides Elements Lists By : Abundance ( in humans ) Atomic properties Nuclear stability Production Symbol Properties Atomic weight Crystal structure Electron affinity Electron configuration Electronegativity Allen Pauling Goldschmidt classification Maximum valence Data pages Abundance Atomic radius Boiling point Critical point Density Elasticity Electrical resistivity Electron affinity Electron configuration Electronegativity Hardness Heat capacity Heat of fusion Heat of vaporization Ionization energy Melting point Oxidation state Speed of sound Thermal conductivity Thermal expansion coefficient Vapor pressure History Element discoveries Mendeleev 's predictions Naming Etymology controversies places scientists in East Asia See also IUPAC nomenclature systematic element name Trivial name Dmitri Mendeleev Book Chemistry Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Composition_of_the_human_body&oldid=800524722 '' Categories : Biochemistry Human anatomy Human physiology Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Bahasa Indonesia ಕನ್ನಡ Қазақша Nederlands ଓଡ଼ିଆ Русский தமிழ் Edit links This page was last edited on 14 September 2017, at 02 : 23. 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Question: which element is most present in the human body
Answer: oxygen