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Reference ranges for blood tests - the amazing graphical view.

October 20th, 2011, by Guy Harris

Every clinician has seen blood tests results, usually presented as a long list with the normal range and unit for each item in parentheses. But have you ever wondered how these levels relate to each other? Have you ever wanted to see the ranges presented graphically, sorted by mass and molarity, all in the one view? Something like this:

Now you can, and it is fascinating. For mass, for example, the range of levels extends from around 0.1 ng/dL (free estradiol in adult females) all the way up to 150 g/L (hemaglobin). Pointed endings show when the limit is 0 or not available, and faded intervals show when sources differ.

See the whole wonderful image here [link:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Blood_values_sorted_by_mass_and_molar_concentration.png