Your report uses abbreviations and reference ranges that most labs never explain. Here's what each one means, in plain English.
Blood test abbreviations fall into two main panels: a CBC (complete blood count) measures your blood cells — RBC, WBC, HGB, HCT, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, and platelets. A metabolic panel measures organ function and chemistry — glucose, BUN, creatinine, eGFR, ALT, AST, albumin, and electrolytes. An H next to a result means above the reference range; L means below. One flag alone is rarely the full story — the pattern across related markers is what points to a root cause.
The CBC is the most common blood test. It measures how many cells of each type are in your blood and what shape they are.
| Abbreviation | Full name | What it measures | When it's flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBC | White blood cell count | Total number of immune cells in your blood | High: infection, inflammation, stress. Low: bone marrow issues, some medications |
| RBC | Red blood cell count | Number of oxygen-carrying red cells | Low: anaemia. High: dehydration, polycythaemia |
| HGB / HB | Haemoglobin | Protein inside red cells that carries oxygen | Low: anaemia from iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, chronic disease |
| HCT / PCV | Haematocrit / Packed cell volume | Percentage of blood volume that is red cells | Moves with HGB — low = anaemia, high = dehydration or polycythaemia |
| MCV | Mean corpuscular volume | Average size of your red blood cells | Low: iron deficiency. High: B12 or folate deficiency, liver disease, alcohol |
| MCH | Mean corpuscular haemoglobin | Average amount of haemoglobin per red cell | Follows MCV pattern — low with iron deficiency, high with B12/folate deficiency |
| MCHC | Mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration | Concentration of haemoglobin in each red cell | Low: iron deficiency anaemia. High: hereditary spherocytosis (rare) |
| RDW | Red cell distribution width | How varied in size your red cells are | High: iron deficiency, B12 deficiency, mixed anaemia — red cells are uneven in size |
| PLT | Platelet count | Number of clotting particles in your blood | Low: bleeding risk, certain infections. High: inflammation, iron deficiency, infection |
| NEUT / NEU | Neutrophils | Most common white cell — first responder to bacterial infection | High: bacterial infection, stress. Low: viral infection, some drugs |
| LYMPH | Lymphocytes | White cells that drive immune memory and virus response | High: viral infections, CLL. Low: some autoimmune conditions, HIV |
| MONO | Monocytes | White cells that clean up debris and signal inflammation | High: chronic inflammation, infection, some autoimmune conditions |
| EOS | Eosinophils | White cells involved in allergy and parasite response | High: allergies, asthma, parasitic infection, drug reactions |
| BASO | Basophils | Least common white cell — involved in allergic response | Borderline high is often statistical variation. Persistently high: thyroid or bone marrow issues |
A basic metabolic panel (BMP) covers 8 markers. A comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) adds liver markers and protein. Together they cover kidney function, blood sugar, electrolytes, and liver health.
| Abbreviation | Full name | What it measures | When it's flagged |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood sugar | |||
| GLU / GLUC | Glucose | Blood sugar at time of draw | High (fasting): diabetes or prediabetes. High (non-fasting): expected after eating |
| Kidney function | |||
| BUN | Blood urea nitrogen | Waste product the kidney filters out | High: dehydration, kidney stress, high-protein diet. Low: liver disease, low protein intake |
| CREAT / CR | Creatinine | Muscle waste product cleared by the kidneys | High: kidney impairment, dehydration, high muscle mass. See also high creatinine |
| eGFR | Estimated glomerular filtration rate | Estimated kidney filtration capacity (calculated from creatinine + age + sex) | Below 60: reduced kidney function. Below 15: severe impairment requiring specialist care |
| Electrolytes | |||
| NA / SOD | Sodium | Key electrolyte controlling fluid balance | High or low: dehydration, medication side effects, kidney or adrenal issues |
| K / POT | Potassium | Electrolyte critical for heart and muscle function | Critically high or low: cardiac risk. Often affected by medications (diuretics, ACE inhibitors) |
| CL / CHLOR | Chloride | Electrolyte; follows sodium in most cases | Rarely flagged in isolation; usually read alongside sodium and bicarbonate |
| CO2 / BICARB | Carbon dioxide / Bicarbonate | Measures the acid-base balance of blood | Low: acidosis (kidney issues, diabetic ketoacidosis). High: alkalosis (vomiting, diuretics) |
| Liver function (CMP only) | |||
| ALT / SGPT | Alanine aminotransferase | Enzyme released when liver cells are damaged | High: liver stress or damage. More liver-specific than AST. See liver function guide |
| AST / SGOT | Aspartate aminotransferase | Enzyme from liver and muscle; rises with damage to either | High: liver disease, muscle injury, heavy exercise, alcohol. Less specific than ALT |
| ALP / ALKP | Alkaline phosphatase | Enzyme from liver, bone, and bile ducts | High: bile duct blockage, bone disease, liver disease. Elevated in growing children (normal) |
| TBIL / T.BILI | Total bilirubin | Breakdown product of red blood cells; cleared by the liver | High: liver disease, haemolysis (red cell breakdown), bile duct obstruction |
| ALB | Albumin | Protein made by the liver; reflects nutritional status and liver function | Low: liver disease, malnutrition, inflammation, kidney protein loss |
| TP / TPROT | Total protein | Sum of albumin and globulin proteins in blood | Low: malnutrition, liver disease. High: dehydration, certain immune conditions |
Beyond the CBC and metabolic panel, most reports include lipids, thyroid, and often a selection of vitamins and hormones.
| Abbreviation | Full name | What it measures | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lipid panel (cholesterol) | |||
| TC / CHOL | Total cholesterol | All cholesterol types combined | Lipid panel guide |
| LDL | Low-density lipoprotein | "Bad" cholesterol — deposits in artery walls | High LDL guide |
| HDL | High-density lipoprotein | "Good" cholesterol — removes LDL from circulation | Lipid panel guide |
| TG / TRIG | Triglycerides | Blood fats; rise with excess carbohydrates, alcohol, and metabolic dysfunction | High triglycerides guide |
| Thyroid | |||
| TSH | Thyroid-stimulating hormone | Pituitary signal to the thyroid — high TSH means the thyroid is underperforming | TSH guide |
| FT4 / FREE T4 | Free thyroxine | Active thyroid hormone available to the body | TSH guide |
| Iron and nutrition | |||
| FERR / FERRITIN | Ferritin | Iron storage protein — the earliest indicator of iron depletion | Low ferritin guide |
| TSAT | Transferrin saturation | Percentage of iron-transport protein that is carrying iron | Low ferritin guide |
| 25-OH VIT D / VIT D | 25-hydroxyvitamin D | The storage form of vitamin D — the standard test for deficiency | Low vitamin D guide |
| B12 / COBAL | Vitamin B12 / Cobalamin | Essential for red cell production and nerve function | Low B12 guide |
| Inflammation | |||
| CRP / hsCRP | C-reactive protein | Acute-phase inflammatory marker; hsCRP is the high-sensitivity version | CRP guide |
| HbA1c / A1C | Glycated haemoglobin | Average blood sugar over the past 2–3 months | HbA1c guide |
A flag is a starting point, not a verdict. Here's how to read the weight behind one.
Labs set reference ranges to cover the middle 95% of results from a healthy reference group. That means 1 in 20 healthy people will land outside the range on any given test — by design, not disease. On a 20-marker panel, a healthy person has a 64% chance of at least one flag.
A creatinine of 1.9 against an upper limit of 1.2 is not the same as one barely touching 1.21. Both get an H flag. The distance from the boundary — not the flag itself — tells you how much weight to put on it.
Low ferritin + low MCV + low MCH is not three problems — it's one iron deficiency showing up across three related tests. Scattered flags from unrelated systems with no symptom match are usually statistical noise rather than a cluster pointing to a root cause.
Multiple related flags usually trace to one root cause. These are the four most common clusters on a standard panel.
AI tools can translate abbreviations, explain what each marker measures, flag values outside the reference range, and identify common patterns across multiple results — which most lab reports don't do. What AI can't do is replace a clinical diagnosis, which requires your medical history, symptoms, and physical examination.
The practical use case: AI is best for understanding your results before or between appointments — so you arrive knowing what questions to ask, rather than spending the appointment decoding what the abbreviations mean. For any result your lab has flagged as critically high or critically low, contact your doctor directly rather than relying on any automated interpretation.
FixFirst reads your actual values, ranks every flagged marker by clinical weight, and shows you the pattern — not just a colour-coded list of H and L. Free, no account needed.
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