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A 'reference range' is a set of values used by a health professional to interpret a set of medical test results. The range is usually defined as the set of values 95% of the normal population falls within.
It must be remembered that the reference range will vary, depending on the age, sex and race of a population, and even the instruments the laboratory uses to perform the tests. Also remember that ''by definition'' 5% of the ''normal'' population will fall outside the reference range.
'''These are approximate adult values that are intended as a guide to students and those interested, .'''

Contents

Clinical biochemistry

Hematology

Immunology

See also

References

External links

Clinical biochemistry

★ Items marked with a
★
★ are part of "CHEM-7"^[1] and CHEM-20

★ Items marked with a
★ are part of "CHEM-20"^[2], but not CHEM-7

'Category'	'Test'	'Low'	'High'	'Unit'	'Comments'
Electrolytes and Metabolites[3]	★ ★ Sodium (Na)	136	145	mmol/L
	★ ★ Potassium (K)	3.5	4.5	mmol/L
	Urea	2.5	6.4	mmol/L	★ ★ BUN - blood urea nitrogen
	Urea	7	18	mg/dL
	★ ★ Creatinine - male	62	115	μmol/L
	★ ★ Creatinine - female	53	97	μmol/L
	★ ★ Creatinine - male	0.7	1.3	mg/dL
	★ ★ Creatinine - female	0.6	1.1	mg/dL
	★ ★ Glucose (fasting)	3.9	5.8	mmol/L	''See also'' glycosylated hemoglobin
	★ ★ Glucose (fasting)	70	105	mg/dL
Liver function tests	★ Total Protein	60	80	g/L
	★ Albumin	35[4]	50	g/L
	★ Total Bilirubin	2	14	μmol/L
	★ Direct Bilirubin	0	4	μmol/L
	★ Alanine transaminase (ALT)	8	40	U/L	Also called ''serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase'' (SGPT)
	★ Alkaline phosphatase (ALP)	40	130	U/L	Higher in children and pregnant women.
	★ Gamma glutamyl transferase	n/a	50	U/L
Other enzymes and proteins	Creatine kinase (CK) - male	24[4]	195	U/L
	Creatine kinase (CK) - female	24[4]	170	U/L
	★ Aspartate transaminase (AST)	8	35	U/L	Also called ''serum glutamic oxatoacetic transaminase'' (SGOT)
	★ Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)	85	285	U/L
	Amylase	n/a	120[4]	U/L
	C-reactive protein (CRP)	n/a	5[4]	mg/L
	D-dimer	n/a	500	ng/mL
Other ions and trace metals	Ionised calcium (Ca)	1.15	1.29	mmol/L	Some calcium is bound to albumin, thus not measured by certain techniques.
	★ Total calcium (Ca)	2.05	2.55	mmol/L
	Copper (Cu)	11[4]	24	μmol/L
	Zinc (Zn)	10	17	μmol/L
Lipids	Triglycerides	0.4	2	mmol/L
	★ Total cholesterol	3	5.0[10]	mmol/L
	HDL cholesterol (male)	0.7	1.9	mmol/L
	(female)	0.9	2.4	mmol/L
	LDL cholesterol	2.4	3[11]	mmol/L	Not valid when triglycerides >5.0 mmol/L.
Tumour markers	Alpha fetoprotein (AFP)	n/a	10	kU/l
	Beta Human chorionic gonadotrophin (bHCG)	n/a	5	IU/l
	CA-125 (also CA12.5)	n/a	35	U/ml
	CA15.3	n/a	28	U/ml
	CA19.9	n/a	40	U/ml
	Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) - non-smokers	n/a	3	μg/l
	Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) - smokers	n/a	5	μg/l
	Prostate specific antigen (PSA)	n/a	4	μg/L
Hormones	Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)	0.4	4.7	mIU/L	Also called: Thyrotropin
	Free thyroxine (FT4)	9	24	pmol/L
	Free triiodothyronine (FT3)	2.5	5.3	pmol/L
	Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)	1.3	15	pmol/L
	Cortisol (0830 h)	250	850	nmol/L	Cortisol levels are higher in the morning than at night.
	Cortisol (1630 h)	110	390	nmol/L
	Prolactin (male)	n/a	450	mIU/L
	(female)	n/a	580	mIU/L
	Testosterone (male)	8	38	nmol/L
	(male prepuberty)	0.1	0.5	nmol/L
	(female)	0.3	2.5	nmol/L

★ Not listed:
★
★ chloride,
★
★ carbon dioxide,
★ uric acid,

Hematology

'Category'	'Test'	'Low'	'High'	'Unit'	'Comments'
Red blood cells	Haemoglobin (Hb) (male)	140	180	g/L	Higher in neonates, lower in children.
	(female)	115	160	g/L	Sex difference negligible until adulthood.
	Haematocrit (Hct) (male)	0.38	0.52
	(female)	0.35	0.47
	Mean cell volume (MCV)	80	98	fL	Cells are larger in neonates, though smaller in other children.
	Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH)	26	34	pg
	Red cell count (male)	4.5	6.5	x1012/L
	(female)	3.8	5.8	x1012/L
	Reticulocytes	10	100	x109/L
	erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)	n/a	20	mm/hr	Females tend to have a higher ESR. ESR increases with age.
White blood cells	The Total white blood cells	4	11	x109/L	Higher in neonates and infants.
	Neutrophil granulocytes	2	7.5	x109/L	45-74%. Also known as granulocytes (grans), polys, PMNs, or segs.
	Lymphocytes	1.3	4	x109/L	16-45%
	Monocytes	0.2	0.8	x109/L	4.0-10%
	Eosinophil granulocytes	0.04	0.4	x109/L	0.0-7.0%
	Basophil granulocytes	0.01	0.1	x109/L	0.0-2.0%
Coagulation	Platelets	150	400	x109/L	Platelets are part of the formation of blood clots
	Prothrombin time (PT)	7	10	s	PT reference varies between laboratory kits - INR is standardised
	INR	0.9	1.2		The INR is a corrected ratio of a patients PT to normal
	Activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)	29	41	s
	Thrombin clotting time (TCT)	11	18	s
	Fibrinogen	1.8	4	g/L
	Bleeding time	2	9	minutes

Immunology

'Category'	'Test'	'Low'	'High'	'Unit'	'Comments'
Acute phase protein markers of Inflammation	Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)	0	(Age, +10 if female)/2	mm/hr
	C-reactive protein (CRP)	0	6	mg/L
Autoantibodies	Antinuclear antibodies (ANA)
	Extractable nuclear antigen (ENA)
	Rheumatoid factor (RF)	0	20	IU/mL	High levels not specific for Rheumatoid Arthritis alone.
Serology	Antistreptolysin O titre (ASOT) - preschoolers	n/a	100	units/mL
	Antistreptolysin O titre (ASOT) - others	n/a	200	units/mL

See also

★ Blood test

★ Comprehensive metabolic panel

★ Medical technologist

★ Cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures

References

1.
2.
3. C. A. Burtis and E. R. Ashwood, ''Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry'' (1994) 2nd edition, ISBN 0-7216-4472-4
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

External links

★

★ Values at harvard.edu

★ Values at lymphomation.org

★ Descriptions at amarillomed.com

★ Values at bloodbook.com

★ Values at lef.org

★ Values at bloodindex.org