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MOSTCOMMONMETRICUNITSUSEDINTHEMEDICALFIELD
Micro(mc) microgram
10
‐6
Onemillionth 0.000001
,,
ofthebaseunit
Milli(m) milligram
milliliter*
millimeter
10
‐3
Onethousandth 0.001
,
ofthebaseunit
Centi(c) centimeter 10
‐2
Onehundredth 0.01
ofthebaseunit
Deci(d) deciliter 10
‐1
Onetenth 0.1
ofthebaseunit
BASE
gram(g)
liter(L)
meter(m)
10
0
One 1 1timesthebaseunit
Kilo(k) kilogram 10
3
Thousand 1,000 1,000timesthebaseunit
*1cc=1mL
Kilo
hecto
deca
*BASE
deci
centi
milli
King Henry Died (froma) Disease Called Mumps.
(k) (h) (da) gram(g) (d) (c) (m)
liter(L)
meter(m)
To convert from one unit of measurement to the other, move the decimal to the right or left and add the
appropriatezeros.
Example: 1dg=?kg
Togofromdecitokiloyoumovethedecimal4placestotheleft
Therefore,1dg=0.0001kg
THE METRIC STAIRCASE