Magnesium
What it measures
Indian reports use mg/dL; mmol/L and mEq/L both appear elsewhere, and unlike sodium these are not the same number — magnesium carries two charges, so mEq/L is twice mmol/L. Most of the body's magnesium sits inside cells and bone rather than in the blood, which means a blood level can look ordinary while stores are low.
Reading it in a different unit
This lab reports Magnesium in mg/dl. Reports from other labs — especially ones using European or US-style formatting — sometimes use a different unit for the same measurement. The relationship between them:
| Reported unit | How it relates to mg/dl |
|---|---|
| meq/l | mg/dl = meq/l × 1.21525 |
| mmol/l | mg/dl = mmol/l × 2.4305 |
Unit conversions verified against published molar masses and LOINC definitions. This is not a diagnostic reference — the normal range for any test is set by the laboratory that ran it and printed on your report.
Why this matters for tracking a trend
A value plotted next to earlier results only tells you something if every point is on the same scale. Two readings of the same test from two different labs, in two different units, can look like a dramatic change when nothing about your actual result changed — only the unit did. Converting to one scale before comparing is what keeps a trend line honest.
LOINC codes for this test: 19123-9, 2601-3.
General information about laboratory measurement, not medical advice. Whether a specific result is normal for you depends on your lab's reference range, your history and your doctor's judgement — not on this page.