The anion gap is the difference in the measured cations and the measured anions in serum, plasma, or urine. The magnitude of this difference (i.e. "gap") in the serum is often calculated in medicine when attempting to identify the cause of metabolic acidosis. If the gap is greater than normal, then high anion gap metabolic acidosis is diagnosed.
The term "anion gap" usually implies "serum anion gap", but the urine anion gap is also a clinically useful measure.
Read more about Anion Gap: Calculation, Uses, Normal Value Ranges, Interpretation and Causes
Famous quotes containing the word gap:
“The gap between the committed and the indifferent is a Sahara whose faint trails, followed by the mind’s eye only, fade out in sand.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)