Milligram per cent is a traditional symbol used to denote a unit of measure of
concentration
In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', ...
. The traditional use of the 'mg%' symbol was meant to indicate the mass (in
milligrams) of that chemical in 100
milliliters
The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...
of solution (e.g., blood).
The meaning of the symbol 'percent' is 'divided by 100', therefore the accurate meaning of the notation 'mg%' is 'milligrams divided by 100', which is a unit of
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...
, not a concentration. Therefore, for
dimensional analysis purposes, when denoting a concentration of mass divided by
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). ...
, it has largely been replaced by units such as 'mg/dL' or the
International System of Units
The International System of Units, known by the international abbreviation SI in all languages and sometimes pleonastically as the SI system, is the modern form of the metric system and the world's most widely used system of measurement. ...
equivalent.
For example, a
plasma ethanol concentration incorrectly denoted as 0.1 mg% can be written as '0.1 mg/dL' (or '1 mg/L', etc.) meaning a mass of 0.1 milligrams of
ethyl alcohol per 100 milliliter
volume
Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). ...
of plasma.
See also
*
Parts-per-million (ppm)
References
{{Medicine, state=collapsed
Chemical properties
Physiology
Nephrology
Blood tests