Welcome back to the channel where medical topics are made easy. This video is going to show you an easy way to remember all the normal ranges of common labs. Before we get started, make sure to turn on the caption real quick and read along.
This will help you better learn and remember everything. Let's begin with the basic metabolic panel, which primarily measures basic electrolytes, renal function, and glucose. Starting with sodium, you're going to use the letters OD in the word sodium to remember odd numbers.
You're going to use the first three odd numbers, which are 1, 3, and 5. and this will give you 135. 135 is in the normal range for sodium and you can simply add 10 which will give you the normal range of 135 to 145. Remember as we walk through each of these lab values the normal range may vary depending on the lab and your location. Next we have potassium. When you think of potassium think of bananas.
There are usually three to five bananas in a bunch and you want to buy them half off if you can. This will help you remember the normal range of potassium is 3.5 to 5. As we said before, the basic metabolic panel also assesses renal function, which includes a BUN and creatinine. Starting with the BUN, you can use the word bun to help you remember bunion. Bunions are typically located on the toes or digits, and we have 5 digits per extremity, with a total of 20 digits.
This will help you remember the normal range for BUN is 5 to 20. Next, we have creatinine, which also looks at renal function. You can use the word 9 in creatinine to remember 0.9. which is right in the middle of the normal range. A normal range for creatinine is about 0.6 to 1.2. Next we have glucose.
When you think of glucose, think of energy. And our energy starts to decline during our elderly years, especially when we're 70 to 100 years old. This will help you remember the normal range for glucose is 70 to 100. Moving on to calcium. When you think of calcium, think of milk. A gallon of milk actually weighs about 8.5 pounds.
And then think of 2% milk to add 2 to that. This will give you the normal range for calcium of 8.5 to 10.5. Next is chloride.
When you think of chloride, think of chlorine and a hot tub. The average temperature of a hot tub is 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, which will help you remember the normal range of 95 to 105. Finally, we have bicarbonate. When you think of bicarbonate, think of carbonation and soda.
Soda is usually sold in a 12-pack. But it's not just carbonate, it's bicarbonate, and bi means two, so we're going to multiply the 12 by 2. This gives us 24, with a normal range of about 23 to 29. Let's recap quick and then we'll move on to the next set of labs. For sodium, remember odd numbers 1, 3, and 5 to help you remember 135, with the normal range of 135 to 145. For potassium, remember bananas. There are usually three to five bananas in a bunch, and you want to buy them half off. This will help you remember 3.5 to 5. For BUN, remember bunion.
There are five digits per limb with a total of 20 digits to help you remember 5 to 20. For creatinine, use the 9 to remember 0.9, which is right in the middle of the normal range of 0.6 to 1.2. For glucose, remember energy and that our energy decreases when we're 70 to 100 years old. This will help you remember 70 to 100. For calcium, think of milk. A gallon of milk weighs 8.5 pounds, plus 2% milk to remember 8.5 to 10.5.
For chloride, remember chlorine in hot tubs with an average temperature of 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This will help you remember 95 to 105. Finally, for bicarbonate, remember carbonation in a 12-pack of soda, times 2 since it's bicarbonate, and this will help you remember 24. So basically, if you memorized the word associations, you'll start to memorize the normal lab values. So always associate sodium with odd numbers, potassium, bananas, BUN, bunion, creatinine, 9, glucose, energy, calcium, milk, chloride, hot tub, bicarbonate, carbonation, or soda.
There's also a comprehensive metabolic panel, which mainly includes liver function tests in addition to everything in the basic metabolic panel. There may also be a couple other electrolytes depending on the lab. Two of the main liver tests are AST and ALT, and the way you can differentiate these is with the S and L.
Starting with AST, you can use the S to remember school. An average school day is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and this will help you remember the normal range for AST is about 9 to 40. Another way to think of AST is to use the 9 a.m.
start time for school, and then an average school week is about 40 hours when you factor in homework. This can also be used to remember the normal range of about 9 to 40. You can do the same thing with ALT. You can use the L to remember labor or work.
An average workday is longer than a school day and may start at 7 a.m. and end around 6 p.m. This will help you remember the normal range for ALT is about 7 to 60. Or you can use the 7 a.m. start time for work and a 60-hour work week to remember 7 to 60. Remember these normal ranges may vary slightly depending on the lab, and if you're taking a medical exam, the abnormal values that they give you in a question are usually drastically abnormal, so just try to remember the general ranges. Next we have alkaline phosphatase.
This can also be used to measure liver function as it can be elevated in hepatobiliary diseases as well as different bone diseases. When you think of phosphatase, think of phosphate. You can use the 8 and phosphate to remember 80, which is right in the middle of the normal range.
The normal range is about 40 to 120. Next we have bilirubin, which again can be used with other liver function tests. And you can use the rubin and bilirubin to remember a rubin sandwich. When you order a Reuben sandwich at a restaurant, you usually get one sandwich, and this will help you remember a normal value of less than one.
Finally, we have albumin, which is a protein produced by the liver. So when you think of albumin, think of protein or a protein shake, which usually includes three to five ingredients if you're making a homemade one. This will help you remember the normal range is about 3.4 to 5.4.
So to recap the comprehensive metabolic panel quick, and then we'll move on to the next one. You're going to use the S and AST to think of school, which will help you remember 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
and the normal range of 9 to 40. For ALT, you're going to use the L to think of labor or work, which will help you remember 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the normal range of 7 to 60. For alkaline phosphatase, think of phosphate and the ending 8 to remember 80, which is right in the middle of the normal range of 40 to 120. For bilirubin, think of a Reuben sandwich to remember less than one. Finally, for albumin, think of protein and a protein shake to remember three to five ingredients and a normal range of 3.4 to 5.4. So the word associations you want to memorize here are AST and school, ALT and labor, ALP and phosphate, bilirubin and Reuben, albumin and protein shake.
If you remember these, then the normal lab values will come to you. Next, we have a complete blood count or CBC. This generally tells you your white blood cell count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit, and platelet count, along with other differential information.
Starting with the white blood cell count, you can use the WBC to remember want to buy a car for $5,000 to $10,000. This will help you remember the normal range is about $5,000 to $10,000. Next, we have the red blood cell count.
When you think of red blood cells, think of blood. And the adult human body has about 4.5 to 5.5 liters of blood, and this fits perfectly with the normal range for red blood cells, which is about 4.5 to 5.5. Moving on to hemoglobin, when you think of hemoglobin, think of oxygen. As hemoglobin carries or transfers oxygen, the average adult takes about 12 to 18 breaths per minute at rest. This will help you remember the normal range of 12 to 18. For females, a normal hemoglobin is about 12 to 16. and for males it's about 14 to 18. Then we have hematocrit.
When you think of hematocrit, think of hematocrisis and a midlife crisis, which typically occurs between 40 and 50 years old. This will help you remember a normal range of about 37 to 50 percent. The normal range for a female is about 37 to 47 percent, and the normal range for a male is about 42 to 50 percent.
Finally, we have the platelet count. When you think of platelets, think of the word plate. Fine China plate sets may cost anywhere from $150 to $400 on average.
This will help you remember a normal range of about $150,000 to $400,000. So the word associations you want to remember here are WBC and want to buy a car, red blood cell and blood, hemoglobin and oxygen, hematocrit and hematocrisis, and platelets and China plates. Let's move on to the normal values of an arterial blood gas or an ABG.
An ABG provides information on a patient's acid-base status. Starting with the pH, we know the body likes to be in homeostasis, which would put the pH at around 7. Now how can you remember that it's specifically 7.4 with a range of 7.35 to 7.45? Well, you can use the pH to spell the word 4 with a pH instead of an F, and this will help you remember 7.4. Next, we have the PCO2. All you're going to do is use the numbers after the decimal in the pH and this will give you 35 to 45. Finally we have bicarbonate which we talked about in the basic metabolic panel.
Remember we're going to use carbonation and a 12 pack of soda multiplied by 2 since it's bicarbonate and this will give us the normal ABG range of about 22 to 26. So the word associations to remember here are pH and 7.4 spelled with a ph, pCO2, and the numbers after the pH decimals, and bicarb and carbonation or soda times two. Let's wrap this up with coagulation studies which tells us information about the blood's ability to clot and how long it takes to clot. Starting with the INR, you can use the I to remember the number one and the normal range for INR is less than one.
Next is the PT and PTT. You're going to use the T's to help you remember the normal values. Beginning with the PT, You can use the single T to stand for 10, which will help you remember the normal range of 10 to 12 seconds. For PTT, you can use the double T to remember 10 plus 20 or 30, which will give you the normal range of 30 to 40 seconds when you add them up.
So the word associations here are INR and 1, PT and 10, and PTT and 10 plus 20 or 30. Hopefully these tricks will help you remember the normal ranges of common labs. If you found them useful, please hit the like button, and if you have any other tricks that you use to remember different labs, please comment down below. Don't forget to subscribe to not miss out on future Medical Topics Made Easy, and you can find all of the notes and tables for this video linked down below in the description.
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