Variability
Variability (Medicine)
Variability (pronounced vair-ee-uh-bil-i-tee) refers to the degree to which a measurement, such as a patient's blood pressure or heart rate, varies over time. In the medical field, variability is often used to assess the health status of a patient, as a lack of variability can indicate a potential health issue.
Etymology
The term "variability" comes from the Latin word "variabilis", which means changeable. It was first used in the medical context in the late 19th century.
Related Terms
- Standard Deviation: A statistical measure of variability that quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values.
- Variance: Another statistical measure of variability, variance is the average of the squared differences from the mean.
- Coefficient of Variation: A normalized measure of the dispersion of a probability distribution.
- Biological Variation: The natural fluctuation over time of biological markers including hormones, enzymes, and other key health indicators.
- Homeostasis: The state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This dynamic state of equilibrium is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range).
See Also
References
- Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
- Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 9th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Variability
- Wikipedia's article - Variability
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