Big Picture

Fast fact #75

#75: The human brain accounts for 2 per cent of the total mass of the body, but 20 per cent of its oxygen consumption at rest.

Bibliography

Source: Clarke DD and Sokoloff L. Regulation of Cerebral Metabolic Rate. In Siegel GJ et al (eds). Basic Neurochemistry: Molecular, cellular and medical aspects. 6th edn. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven; 1999.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK28194
Originally published in Big Picture: Inside the Brain
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Education-resources/Teaching-and-education/Big-Picture/All-issues/Inside-the-brain/index.htm

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