The lateral surface area of a solid is the surface area of the part that runs around its side, excluding its designated base or bases. For a prism or pyramid, this part consists of the faces other than the base or bases. Each lateral face meets a base along a polyhedron edge. For a cylinder, the lateral surface joins the boundaries of its two bases. For a cone, it joins the boundary of the base to the apex (Kern and Bland 1948).
For a right prism or right circular cylinder, the lateral surface area is
 |
where 
is the perimeter of the base and 
is the altitude. For a regular
pyramid or right circular cone, it is
 |
where 
is the slant height.
The total surface area is obtained by adding the area of the omitted base or bases.
