Understand Your Health Reports in Simple Language
Explore common lab tests, scan terms, organ-based health topics, and specialty-specific explanations written for patients and families.
Explore Health Topics
Pick a category, or filter by tests, terms, organs, and specialties
Popular Health Terms
The values and words patients search for most often
How to Read Your Report
Every lab report follows the same basic anatomy — here is what each part means
Test Name
What was measured — often with short forms like Hb, TSH, or SGPT. Check our glossary if a name looks unfamiliar.
Your Value
The number measured from your sample. On its own it means little — it needs the unit and range beside it.
Unit
How the value is measured — mg/dL, g/dL, U/L. Different units make numbers look different even when results agree.
Reference Range
The band seen in most healthy people, printed by your lab. Always compare your value with your own report's range.
High / Low Flag
An H or L marks values outside the range. A flag is a prompt for review — not a diagnosis by itself.
Clinical Correlation
Reports often say "needs clinical correlation" — meaning results must be read with your symptoms and history. That interpretation is your doctor's job, and it's why the same value can mean different things for different people.
No website — including this one — can interpret your individual report. Use these pages to understand the words, then review the actual results with a qualified doctor who knows your history.