Arterial Blood Gas Class
Lesson 2
Statistics for Clinical Laboratories

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All measurements are
approximations at best.¹

"Laboratory measurements are used by physicians for two purposes:

• To identify the diseased individual
• To follow the progress of the diseased individual under medical therapy

The laboratory itself has two responsibilities to the physician:

• To provide the physician with an estimate of the variation in the normal human population
• To guarantee the reliability of each individual measurement.²"

Select From the Following Topics:

• How do we know what NORMAL ABG values are?   . . . .     to Normal Values
• What then are ABNORMAL ABG values?   . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     to Abnormal Values
• What are LAB ERRORS and how can we reduce them? . . . . . .     to Laboratory Errors

¹I don't know when or where I first heard that expression.
²Copeland, B. Statistical Tools in Clinical Pathology from Davidsohn, I. and Wells, B. from Todd and Sanford's Clinical Diagnosis by Laboratory Methods, Ed. 13, 1963

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