Data description for continuous parameters is sometimes only based on means and standard deviations of measurement series, graphical representation only concentrates on corresponding "MSE plots", which provide means and standard deviations or even only mean squared errors. However, this strategy is only correct for normally distributed data. Outliers may seriously bias mean and standard deviations and may therefore lead to wrong clinical conclusions. The present paper suggests the use of medians and quartiles, which - just like their graphical pendant, the nonparametric "box whisker plot" - can be applied much more flexibly.