Vancouver Citation Generator
Build a numbered Vancouver-style biomedical reference using the NLM Citing Medicine format recommended by ICMJE, with DOI metadata import and PubMed/NLM journal-abbreviation assistance.
Build a Vancouver / NLM reference
Crossref supplies bibliographic metadata; PubMed/NLM is checked for a journal abbreviation when available.
Family, Given Middle.Vancouver references: follow ICMJE and NLM, then check the target journal
Current ICMJE guidance says references should be numbered in order of first mention and formatted using NLM Citing Medicine conventions. Journal titles should use MEDLINE/NLM abbreviations.
Vancouver is not identical to AMA. NLM practice gives all authors by default, while shortening an author list with et al. is an allowed option rather than the default.
- Verify MEDLINE/NLM journal abbreviations.
- Keep reference numbering aligned with first mention.
- Check publication dates, volume, issue and compressed page ranges.
- Follow target-journal instructions when they differ from the generic NLM pattern.
References for this method
Useful for
- Biomedical manuscripts
- Medical and health-science references
- Vancouver-style numbered bibliographies
- DOI-to-NLM journal references
Need the same source in a different style?
Vancouver/NLM and IEEE are both numbered systems, but they serve different publishing conventions. Reuse the verified source metadata, then review IEEE venue, author and numbering requirements separately.
Compare with IEEE numbered citations → · Compare all eleven citation generators
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Questions
What rules does this Vancouver generator follow?
It follows current ICMJE recommendations to number references by first mention and format reference details using NLM Citing Medicine and MEDLINE/NLM journal abbreviations.
Does Vancouver use et al. after six authors?
NLM practice is to give all authors regardless of number. Citing Medicine says shortening to a fixed number followed by et al. is an acceptable option, but it is not NLM default practice.
Is Vancouver the same as AMA?
No. Both are numbered biomedical styles, but AMA 11 and the ICMJE/NLM Vancouver convention have different author and source-format rules.