Reference ranges, lab values, and units
A reference range (or normal range) is the interval containing roughly 95% of values from a defined reference population — so about 1 in 20 healthy people will fall outside any given range by chance alone. "Out of range" therefore does not equal "sick"; it means the value deserves context: symptoms, history, medications, hydration, recent meals, time of day, and repeat measurement.
Unit literacy prevents most lab misunderstandings. Common conversions recur across this group: sodium 1 mmol = 1 mEq; glucose 18 mg/dL ≈ 1 mmol/L; creatinine mg/dL and µmol/L differ by a factor of 88.4; HbA1c in % (DCCT units) and mmol/mol (IFCC units) are converted by a standard formula. A result looks alarming most often when the units are simply different from the ones you expected.
Clearance-style values are computed, not measured. Estimated GFR (eGFR) comes from equations like CKD-EPI or MDRD using serum creatinine, age, sex, and sometimes race-specified coefficients (many systems have moved away from race-based terms). Creatinine clearance (Cockcroft–Gault) estimates the same physiology for drug dosing. Anion gap = Na − (Cl + HCO₃), useful in acid–base analysis; corrected calcium adjusts for albumin because much circulating calcium is albumin-bound.
Sequence-based or trend values matter more than one-off readings: ALT/AST ratio, bilirubin fractions, CRP trends, and hemoglobin changes are interpreted over time and against the full clinical picture.