Educational tool, not a diagnosis. This page applies a published formula to the numbers you enter. Clinicians read uterine size alongside age, pregnancy history, menopausal status, symptoms and the appearance of the uterus on the scan.
Discuss any result with the healthcare professional who arranged your scan. A single volume does not diagnose or exclude any condition.
Quick answer: uterine volume = length × width × AP depth × 0.523, with all three diameters in centimetres. A uterus measuring 7.5 × 4.5 × 3.5 cm holds about 61.8 mL. In a 2026 study of 1,232 healthy women aged 18 to 40, the median was 55.6 mL and the middle half of women measured 39 to 75 mL.
The uterine volume formula
The ellipsoid method treats the uterus as a prolate ellipsoid, a stretched sphere. Its volume is π/6 times the product of its three full diameters, and π/6 rounds to 0.523. Worked example for a uterus measuring 8.0 × 5.0 × 4.0 cm:
- Multiply the diameters: 8.0 × 5.0 × 4.0 = 160
- Apply the coefficient: 160 × 0.523 = 83.7 mL
Platt, Bree and Davidson tested this method in 1990. They scanned 156 women before a planned hysterectomy, calculated uterine volume with the prolate ellipsoid formula, and found that the results correlated highly with the volume of the removed uterus.
Platt JF, Bree RL, Davidson D. Ultrasound of the normal nongravid uterus: correlation with gross and histopathology. J Clin Ultrasound 1990;18(1):15–19.
Where the three diameters come from
| Diameter | Ultrasound view | What is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Length (L) | Sagittal (long-axis) | Top of the fundus to the cervix |
| Anteroposterior depth (AP) | Sagittal (long-axis) | Front wall to back wall, at right angles to the length |
| Width (W) | Transverse (cross-section) | The widest side-to-side diameter of the uterine body |
Reports differ on where the length ends. A whole-uterus length runs to the external cervical opening and includes the cervix. A body-only length stops at the internal opening and gives a smaller volume. Compare your result only with reference figures that measured length the same way.
Transabdominal and transvaginal scans give almost the same length. In the 2026 Indian study, mean length was 7.09 cm on transabdominal scans and 7.11 cm on transvaginal scans.
Uterine volume reference figures
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Women measured for volume | 1,232 |
| Median uterine volume | 55.6 mL |
| Middle half (25th–75th centile) | 39.0–74.9 mL |
| Mean ± SD | 61.6 ± 37.2 mL |
| Length, mean (2.5th–97th centile) | 7.09 cm (3.6–10.5) |
| Width, mean (2.5th–97th centile) | 4.19 cm (2.3–6.4) |
The study enrolled healthy women from rural and urban sites across India, with and without children. It excluded pregnant and breastfeeding women and women with polycystic ovary syndrome or a known gynaecological disorder. The wide standard deviation shows how much healthy uteri vary, so the calculator reports where a result sits against these centiles instead of labelling it normal or abnormal.
Childbirth and menopause change the numbers
Pregnancy enlarges the uterus, and it does not fully return to its earlier size. Chen and colleagues measured 298 healthy Chinese women of reproductive age and found every body diameter larger after childbirth:
| Births | Length | Width | AP depth | Volume from these means* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None (n = 189) | 44.5 mm | 43.1 mm | 35.9 mm | ≈ 36 mL |
| One (n = 76) | 46.8 mm | 47.5 mm | 40.7 mm | ≈ 47 mL |
| Two or more (n = 33) | 53.8 mm | 52.9 mm | 44.0 mm | ≈ 65 mL |
*The authors reported diameters, not volumes. This page applied the 0.523 formula to their mean diameters to show the trend. These lengths cover the uterine body only, without the cervix, so they sit below whole-uterus volumes.
After menopause the uterus shrinks. Merz and colleagues measured 263 women without uterine or ovarian disease and found that uterine size fell significantly after menopause, with the reduction growing with the years since menopause.
When the ellipsoid estimate misleads
- Fibroids and adenomyosis. A lumpy or asymmetric uterus no longer matches an ellipsoid. The formula then gives a rough size guide, not an accurate volume.
- Compounding error. The formula multiplies three measurements. A 5% over-measurement on each diameter raises the volume by about 16%.
- A tilted or curved uterus. A strongly anteflexed or retroflexed uterus bends, and a straight-line length cuts across the curve and underestimates it.
- Mixed definitions. Whole-uterus and body-only lengths give different volumes for the same uterus. Keep the same definition when you compare scans over time.
The same three-diameter method applies to the ovarian volume calculator and the prostate volume calculator. The ellipsoid volume calculator handles the geometry for any shape of this kind.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate uterine volume?
Multiply the three uterine diameters and the ellipsoid coefficient: volume = length × width × anteroposterior depth × 0.523, with every diameter in centimetres. A uterus measuring 7.5 × 4.5 × 3.5 cm gives 118.1 × 0.523 = 61.8 mL. One cubic centimetre equals one millilitre, so the answer is already in mL.
What is a normal uterine volume?
No single cut-off applies to everyone, because volume rises with childbirth and falls after menopause. In a 2026 study of 1,232 healthy Indian women aged 18 to 40, the median uterine volume was 55.6 mL and the middle half of women measured between 39 and 75 mL. Your own report is interpreted against your age, pregnancy history and scan findings.
Does the uterus get bigger after having children?
Yes. Women who have given birth have larger uteri on average than women who have not. A 2023 study in Scientific Reports measured a mean uterine body length of 44.5 mm with no births, 46.8 mm after one birth and 53.8 mm after two or more, with width and depth rising the same way.
What happens to uterine volume after menopause?
The uterus shrinks. Merz and colleagues (1996) found that uterine size fell significantly after menopause and kept falling with the number of years since menopause. A volume that is small for a 30-year-old is often normal for a 65-year-old.
Does uterine length include the cervix?
It depends on the report. Some sonographers measure from the top of the fundus to the external cervical opening, which includes the cervix. Others measure the uterine body alone, which gives a smaller volume. Check how your report defines length before you compare a result with a reference range.
Is 0.523 the same coefficient used for the ovary and prostate?
Yes. All three organs are modelled as a prolate ellipsoid, and π ÷ 6 = 0.5236 is the exact coefficient for an ellipsoid measured by its three full diameters. Reports round it to 0.52 or 0.523, and the difference is under one percent.
References
- Jabbar PK, Jayasree L, Nair A, et al. Sonographic normative range of uterine and ovarian dimensions and their correlation with anthropometric and hormonal parameters among Indian women of reproductive age (18–40) years. Front Med (Lausanne) 2026;13:1765600. doi:10.3389/fmed.2026.1765600
- Chen F, Gong Y, Xie Y, et al. Assessment of key parameters of normal uterus in women of reproductive age. Sci Rep 2023;13:17794. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44489-6
- Merz E, Miric-Tesanic D, Bahlmann F, Weber G, Wellek S. Sonographic size of uterus and ovaries in pre- and postmenopausal women. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 1996;7(1):38–42. doi:10.1046/j.1469-0705.1996.07010038.x
- Platt JF, Bree RL, Davidson D. Ultrasound of the normal nongravid uterus: correlation with gross and histopathology. J Clin Ultrasound 1990;18(1):15–19.