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Surgery: AMA

What is AMA style?

The AMA Manual of Style provides detailed guidelines on authorship, conflicts of interest, scientific misconduct, intellectual property, and the protection of individuals' rights in scientific research and publication as well as citations and manuscript preparation. AMA Style is the preferred citation style for the medical, social sciences and scientific publishing communities.

Use the link below to access the manual online.

Websites

Author last name First and Second initials, if given (often, no authors are given). Title of the specific item cited (if none is given, use the name of the organization responsible for the site). Name of the website. Date published. Updated [date]. Accessed [date]. URL [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to publication]

Examples: 

  • International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMED-mail website. Accessed April 29, 2004. http://www.promedmail.org
  • Interim guidance about avian influenza A (H5N1) for US citizens living abroad. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Updated November 18, 2005. Accessed December 6, 2005. http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/ avian_flu_ig_americans_ abroad_032405.htm
  • Richmond EJ, Rogol AD. Diagnostic approach to children and adolescents with short stature. UpToDate. Updated November 1, 2021. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/ diagnostic-approach-to-children-and-adolescents-with-short-stature

Government/Organization Report

Author last name First and Second initials. Item title. Published [date]. Updated [date if available]. Accessed [date]. URL

Example: U.S. Department of Health, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma 2007. September 2012. Accessed October 24, 2012. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/guidelines-for-diagnosis-management-of-asthma

Journal Articles

Names of all authors should be given unless there are more than 6, in which case the names of the first 3 authors are used, followed by “et al.”

Use sentence case for article titles: only capitalize the first letter of the first word, proper nouns, names of clinical trials or study groups, and abbreviations that are normally capitalized.

Print Journal Article

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): pages.
  • Example: Rainier S, Thomas D, Tokarz D, et al. Myofibrillogenesis regulator 1 gene mutations cause paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. Arch Neurol. 2004;61(7):1025-1029.

Online Journal Article - Note that the DOI is preferred over a URL.

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): pages. DOI
  • Example: Gasbarrini GB, Mangiola F, Gerardi V, Ianiro G, Corazza GR, Gasbarrini A. Coeliac disease: an old or a new disease? history of a pathology. Intern Emerg Med. 2014;9(3):249–256. doi:10.1007/s11739-013-1044-5

OR

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Article title. Journal Name Abbreviation. Year;vol(issue no.): inclusive pages. Accessed [date]. URL
  • Example: Gore D, Haji SA, Balashanmugam A, et al. Light and electron microscopy of macular corneal dystrophy: a case study. Digit J Ophthalmol. 2004;10. Accessed December 6, 2005. http://www.djo.harvard.edu/site.php?url=/physicians/oa/671

Online Journal Article - Published online before being assigned a specific volume, issue, and page numbers. 

  • Tamburini S, Shen N, Chih Wu H, Clemente JC. The microbiome in early life: implications for health outcomes. Nat Med. Published online July 7, 2016. doi:10.1038/nm4142

Online Journal Article - Preprint posted to a public server such as arXiv.org, bioRxiv.org, MedRxiv

  • Bloss CS, Wineinger NE, Peters M, et al. A prospective randomized trial examining health care utilization in individuals using multiple smartphone-enabled biosensors. bioRxiv. Preprint posted online October 28, 2015. doi:10.1101/029983

Online Journal Article - Preprint posted to a publisher's website

  • Collins-McMillen D, Stevenson EV, Heon Kim J, et al. HCMV utilizes a nontraditional STAT1 activation cascade via signaling through EGFR and integrins to efficiently promote the motility, differentiation, and polarization of infected monocytes. J Virol. Accepted manuscript. Published online October 11, 2017. doi:10.1128/JVI.00622-17

  • Atkins M, Coutinho AD, Nunna S, Gupte-Singh K, Eaddy M. Confirming the timing of phase-based costing in oncology studies: a case example in advanced melanoma. J Med Econ. Accepted manuscript. Published online October 12, 2017. doi:10.1080/13696998.2017.1391818

Books

Entire Print Book: 

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year.
  • Example: Modlin J, Jenkins P. Decision Analysis in Planning for a Polio Outbreak in the United States. Pediatric Academic Societies; 2004.

Chapter in a Print Book:

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Chapter Title. In: Editor(s), eds. Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year: pages.
  • Example: Solensky R. Drug allergy: desensitization and treatment of reactions to antibiotics and aspirin. In: Lockey P, ed. Allergens and Allergen Immunotherapy. 3rd ed. Marcel Dekker; 2004:585-606.

Entire Online Book:

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Book Title. Edition number (if it is the second edition or above). Publisher; copyright year.
  • Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade MO, Cook DJ. Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. McGraw-Hill Education; 2015. Accessed August 15, 2016. https://jamaevidence.mhmedical.com/ book.aspx?bookID=847

Chapter in an Online Book:

  • Author last name First and Second initials. Chapter Title. In: Editor(s) eds. Book Title. Edition number e. (if it is the second edition or above; mention of first edition is not necessary) Publisher; copyright year. Accessed date. [provide URL and verify that the link still works as close as possible to the time of publication]
  • Example: Sorkness CA, Blake KV. Asthma. In: DiPiro JT, Talbert RL, Yee GC, Matzke GR, Wells BG, Posey L. eds. Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach, 10e. McGraw-Hill; 2017. Accessed July 16, 2020. https://accesspharmacy.mhmedical.com/ Book.aspx?bookid=1861