A patient seated in the chair before a blood draw
In person

Basic Metabolic Panel (BMP)

Blood sugar, kidney markers, and electrolytes from one blood draw.

Loading price
  • 2,000+ lab locations. Find one near you
  • Nothing due at the lab. FSA / HSA accepted
  • Ordered by a licensed clinician

At a glance

Collection
Blood draw
A standard blood draw at the lab.
Preparation
Fasting preferred
Fast 8 to 12 hours. Water is fine.
Results
1 to 2 days
Typical turnaround after your visit.
Where
2,000+ lab locations
Nationwide, with nothing due at the lab.

About this test

The basic metabolic panel measures glucose, calcium, the electrolytes sodium, potassium, chloride, and CO2, and the kidney markers BUN and creatinine, with an estimated filtration rate. It is a common part of routine blood work and medication check-ins. Fasting for 8 to 12 hours is preferred.

For adults 18 and older. Test availability varies by lab location.

Who should take this test?

This panel is for adults who want a routine look at blood sugar, kidney markers, and electrolytes, or whose healthcare provider checks these while they take certain medicines.

Ask about this test

Not sure this is the right test?

AI-generated. For information only, not medical advice. Call 911 for an emergency.

What does this test measure?

Your results show how your blood sugar, kidney markers, and electrolytes compare with the lab’s reference ranges, and the markers are read together to look for patterns.

Glucose
Glucose is the sugar your body uses as its main source of energy. The level in your blood at the moment of the draw rises after eating and falls between meals, so a fasting sample is the usual way to read it. It is commonly checked when blood sugar or diabetes is a question.
Why it’s measured: To see your blood sugar at the time of the draw, ideally after fasting.
Blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
Urea is a waste product your liver makes when it breaks down protein, and your kidneys clear it into urine. BUN measures the urea nitrogen in your blood. It can shift with hydration, the protein in your diet, and how well the kidneys are filtering, so it is read with creatinine.
Why it’s measured: To help gauge kidney filtering and hydration, read alongside creatinine.
Creatinine
Creatinine is a waste product made at a fairly steady rate by your muscles and removed by your kidneys. Because the kidneys clear it, the level in your blood helps show how well they are filtering. Muscle mass, age, and sex affect the usual level, so it is read in context.
Why it’s measured: A common measure of kidney filtering, and the basis for eGFR.
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)
eGFR is not measured directly. The lab calculates it from your creatinine result along with your age and sex to estimate how much blood your kidneys filter each minute. It gives a clearer view of kidney function than creatinine alone, and a provider reads it over time.
Why it’s measured: To estimate kidney filtering from your creatinine, age, and sex.
BUN/creatinine ratio
This ratio compares your BUN result with your creatinine result. The lab calculates it from the two numbers rather than measuring it separately. A provider may look at it to help sort out whether a change in kidney numbers relates to hydration, diet, or kidney function.
Why it’s measured: Adds context when BUN or creatinine is outside the reference range.
Sodium
Sodium is an electrolyte that helps control the balance of water in and around your cells and supports nerve and muscle function. Blood sodium reflects your fluid balance as much as the salt you eat, and it can shift with hydration, some medicines, and conditions that affect the kidneys or hormones.
Why it’s measured: A core electrolyte for checking fluid and electrolyte balance.
Potassium
Potassium is an electrolyte that your nerves and muscles, including your heart, need to work properly. Your kidneys keep the level in a narrow range. It can be affected by kidney function, some medicines such as diuretics, and how the sample is handled, so it is read with other results.
Why it’s measured: Muscles and the heart depend on potassium staying in a narrow range.
Chloride
Chloride is an electrolyte that works with sodium to keep fluids and electrical charges in balance in your body. It usually moves in step with sodium. It is rarely read on its own and is most useful alongside sodium, potassium, and carbon dioxide in an electrolyte or metabolic panel.
Why it’s measured: Read with sodium and CO2 to check fluid and acid-base balance.
Carbon dioxide (CO2, bicarbonate)
This result mostly reflects bicarbonate, a form of carbon dioxide that helps keep your blood from becoming too acidic or too alkaline. Your lungs and kidneys work together to hold it steady. It is read with the other electrolytes to look at your body’s acid-base balance.
Why it’s measured: A window on acid-base balance, read with the other electrolytes.
Calcium
Calcium is a mineral your bones, muscles, nerves, and heart all rely on. Hormones, including parathyroid hormone and vitamin D, keep the level in your blood tightly controlled. Because part of blood calcium travels attached to albumin, a provider often reads it alongside your albumin result.
Why it’s measured: To check a mineral that bones, nerves, and muscles all depend on.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Order online

    Check out here. A licensed clinician in your state reviews your order and sends it to the lab.

  2. Step 2

    Visit a lab

    Bring a photo ID to any of 2,000+ lab locations. Fast 8 to 12 hours. Water is fine. Nothing is due at the lab.

  3. Step 3

    Get your results

    Results post to your account, usually in 1 to 2 days, each number next to the lab’s reference range.

Find a lab near you

Choose from 2,000+ lab locations nationwide. Your order works at any of them.

What your results tell you

Each marker is reported with its own value and unit and compared with the lab’s reference range for that marker.

  • Each marker next to the lab’s reference range
  • Explained in plain language
  • A licensed clinician reviews your order and, if appropriate, orders the test.
  • A lab report you can download and share

An out-of-range result, such as potassium or sodium, can need prompt follow-up with a healthcare provider, who reads the full set together.

Clinical-grade testing, from the comfort of home.

From the lab to your report, every step of our process meets the gold standard in medical testing.

  • CLIA-certified labs

    Every lab we partner with is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, meeting both state and federal standards with regular independent inspections.

  • We protect your health data

    We protect your health data with encryption and do not sell it. Some results must be reported to public health authorities by law. See our Privacy Notice.

  • Rigorous quality assurance

    All partner labs run regular internal quality checks, participate in proficiency testing, and comply with federal and state lab regulations.

  • Clinician-reviewed reports

    Results are reviewed by an independent, licensed clinician.

Questions

Common questions.

Anything else, our care team answers by phone, text, or email.

It includes glucose (blood sugar); the electrolytes sodium, potassium, chloride, and carbon dioxide (bicarbonate); calcium; and the kidney markers BUN and creatinine. Your report also shows an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and the BUN to creatinine ratio, both calculated from these results.

Fasting for 8 to 12 hours is preferred, mainly because glucose is part of the panel and food raises blood sugar for a while after you eat. Water is fine. If you did not fast, a healthcare provider can take that into account when reading your glucose.

If you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, ask your prescriber how to fast safely before your visit.

Both include glucose, electrolytes, calcium, and kidney markers. The comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) adds albumin, total protein, and the liver markers ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin, so it adds a view of the liver and blood proteins in the same draw.

A BMP is a snapshot of these markers at the time of the draw. It does not include cholesterol, a blood count, thyroid, or liver tests, and a value outside the range often has more than one possible cause, such as hydration, a recent meal, or a medicine.

A healthcare provider reads the results together with your history.

Lab tests are informational and don’t diagnose conditions on their own. Available to adults 18 and older; test availability varies by lab location. A licensed clinician reviews your order and, if appropriate, orders the test. All testing is performed at CLIA-certified laboratories. Not for emergencies: if you think you may be having a medical emergency, call 911.