What does sensitivity mean when used to describe medical tests?
No medical test is perfect. It is important to know the limitations of any test so you can judge how to factor in the test results to your treatment decisions. The sensitivity of a medical test is a measure of how well the test identifies people who have a particular disease. Example: Suppose there is a group of ten women and three of them have breast cancer. If all of the women are given a test to detect the cancer and it finds two of the three, the test has only 66% (2/3) sensitivity.
