Does $userid represent a certain value from the db?

[revloc02c]

I was trying to use $userid to pass a parameter into a SQL stored procedure in my db. I expected the value to be from the id column of my toon in the character_ table (which = 1) but got something completely different (53?). I am wondering if the value contained in the $userid variable corresponds to a column in some table of the db, or does it come from somewhere else entirely (perhaps generated on the client side?). Anyone know?