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In medical diagnostics, sensitivity and specificity refer to the performance of a diagnostic test.
The sensitivity of a test indicates its ability to correctly identify a disease or condition when it actually exists. It therefore measures the percentage of people who are actually ill and for whom the test returns a positive result. A high sensitivity means that the test has a low rate of false negative results, i.e. it correctly detects the disease when it is present.
The specificity of a test, on the other hand, is how well it is able to correctly rule out a disease or condition when in fact it is not present. It measures the percentage of healthy people who test negative. A high specificity means that the test has a low rate of false positives, i.e. it correctly rules out the disease when it is absent.
IE It is important to note that sensitivity and specificity can be somewhat contradictory. A test with high sensitivity may tend to have more false positives, while a test with high specificity may have more false negatives. The choice of test thus depends on the specific requirements of the diagnostic situation and what kind of errors one would rather avoid. Sensitivity and specificity are often evaluated together to provide a comprehensive picture of a test's performance.