National Cancer Institute
U.S. National Institutes of Health | www.cancer.gov

NCI Home
Cancer Topics
Clinical Trials
Cancer Statistics
Research & Funding
News
About NCI
Dictionary of Cancer Terms
In English   En español
Page Options
Print This Page
More NCI Dictionaries
NCI Drug Dictionary

Glossary of Statistical Terms

NCI Dictionary of Genetics Terms

Terminology Resources
Quit Smoking Today
Search for
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
In English   En español

reference interval (REH-frents IN-ter-vul)

 In medicine, a set of values that a doctor uses to interpret a patient’s test results. The reference interval for a given test is based on test results for 95% of the healthy population. Sometimes patients whose test results are outside of the reference interval may be healthy, and some patients whose test results are within the reference interval may have a health problem. The reference interval for a test may be different for different groups of people (for example, men and women). Also called normal range, reference range, and reference values.



Previous Definitions:red cedar, red clover, red date, red elm, Reed-Sternberg cell
Next Definitions:reference range, reference values, reflux, refractory, refractory cancer

A Service of the National Cancer Institute
Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health USA.gov