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16:03 May 21, 2009
English to English translations [PRO] Medical - Medical: Pharmaceuticals / pharmacokinetics, statistics
English term or phrase:median time
does it mean: "mean time" or "median of time", as in the same phrase also "mean concentration" occurs
Explanation: You should not change the stablished statistical term into anything else. Median is median. Period.
To illustrate, let's find the median and mean of a set of values, say 1,2,3, 4,5,6,7.
The median here is 4, that is half of the values are below it ( 1, 2, 3) and half of the values are above it ( 5,6,7). The mean is 1+2+3+4+5+6+7 divided by 7...you figure the rest :)
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Median can also be taken as an adjective or part of the noun, if you will, if you say "median time"
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You have two different things here: one is median time , the other is mean concentration. If you understand the terms, it should be clear.
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In your example, median has a meaning of median, not average.
Agree with Armorel. They are both statistical terms: among a list of ordered values, median time is the value at middle postion, while mean time, the average (calculated) by sum divided by the total number of the listed values. See my answer below for details.
Like here:
Food slightly decreases the rate of absorption (MEDIAN tmax: 1 hour fasted versus 2 hours fed; and MEAN Cmax: 129 ± 20.3 nmol/litre fasted versus 98.7 ± 18.6 nmol/litre fed) but the extent of absorption (AUC) is not changed.
what's the difference between median and mean here?
Can you give us a larger chunk of the text in which this occurs? Mean and median are different statistical concepts, so on the face of it if it says "median time" it simply means "median time" as opposed to "mean time".
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Answers
1 hr confidence: peer agreement (net): +3
meso-position/middle-point time (value)
Explanation: "median" is a term in statistics, means the mid-positoned value of a set of ordered values, not the same as "mean" which means "avergage (value)". So your "median time" is probably reffered to a value of time poitioned/located at the middle (one or average of two) of an order of values of time. BTW, your ""mean concentration" is really an average value of concentration...
Please see also following for reference:
Google Web Definition:
*median value
The value of the property located at the midpoint of all property assessments when arranged in order according to value. ... www.ci.superior.wi.us/index.asp
*median(a): relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in a set with an even number ...
*The middle value in a group of ranked values that has an equal number of values both above and below it. It indicates the centerline of a distribution, while the mean, or average, can be skewed by a single high or low value. www.bridgefieldgroup.com/bridgefieldgroup/glos6.htm
*An average. The median is the middle number in a list of numbers, smalest first to biggest. So, the median of 2, 4, 7, 9, 12 is 7. If the list is made up of an even number of numbers, the median is mid-way between the two middle numbers. ... www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/enfield/schools/southgate/accounts/s...
Adsion Liu Canada Local time: 22:03 Works in field Native speaker of: Chinese
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +3