The metabolic panel is the second test almost everyone gets alongside a CBC. In fourteen lines it covers blood sugar, the electrolytes that run your nerves and muscles, how well your kidneys filter, and how your liver is doing.
This guide covers every marker on a comprehensive metabolic panel, what high and low usually mean for each, and which combinations matter more than the individual numbers. It is educational, not medical advice.
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A CMP shows up at routine physicals, before starting or while taking many prescriptions, during hospital stays, and any time symptoms point toward dehydration, kidney trouble, liver trouble, or blood sugar problems.
Because electrolytes shift quickly with hydration, illness, and medication, this is the panel where a single out-of-range value is most often temporary. Direction across several draws is what tells the real story.
Ranges vary by lab, age, and sex. Always read the range printed on your own report.
| Marker | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Glucose (fasting) | 70-99 mg/dL fasting |
| BUN (blood urea nitrogen) | 7-20 mg/dL |
| Creatinine and eGFR | Creatinine 0.6-1.3 mg/dL; eGFR above 60 |
| Sodium | 135-145 mmol/L |
| Potassium | 3.5-5.2 mmol/L |
| Chloride and CO2 (bicarbonate) | Chloride 98-107 mmol/L; CO2 22-29 mmol/L |
| Calcium | 8.5-10.2 mg/dL |
| Total protein and albumin | Total protein 6.0-8.3 g/dL; albumin 3.5-5.0 g/dL |
| ALT and AST | ALT 7-56 U/L; AST 10-40 U/L |
| ALP (alkaline phosphatase) | 44-147 U/L |
| Bilirubin (total) | 0.1-1.2 mg/dL |
Blood sugar after 8 or more hours without food, a basic read on how you handle carbohydrates.
A protein waste product the kidneys clear. Read alongside creatinine.
Creatinine is a muscle waste product; eGFR converts it into an estimate of kidney filtration.
The main electrolyte controlling fluid balance and nerve signaling.
The electrolyte your heart rhythm and muscle contraction depend on most.
Together with sodium and potassium these track your acid-base and fluid balance.
Blood calcium, kept in a tight range by parathyroid hormone and vitamin D.
Circulating proteins made largely by the liver. Albumin also reflects nutrition and hydration.
Enzymes released when liver cells are stressed or injured. AST also comes from muscle.
An enzyme from liver, bile ducts, and bone.
A pigment from red cell breakdown that the liver clears.
Group the panel before you judge any line. Glucose stands alone as your blood sugar signal. BUN and creatinine together with eGFR make up kidney function. Sodium, potassium, chloride, and CO2 are the electrolyte set, which moves with hydration and medications. ALT, AST, ALP, bilirubin, albumin, and total protein make up the liver picture.
A high BUN with a normal creatinine, for example, usually means dehydration rather than kidney disease. That distinction is invisible if you read the flags one at a time, which is why grouping matters more here than on any other common panel.
View a fully explained sample report first, or upload your own and get the same breakdown for every marker on it.