Medicus -national Library Of Medicine- Abbreviations For Journal Titles |top| | Index

The primary source for journal title abbreviations used in Index Medicus is the NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases

Never manually construct an abbreviation. Instead, use the official search tool: The primary source for journal title abbreviations used

  1. Initials: The first letter or letters of the journal title, often followed by a period (e.g., "J.").
  2. Abbreviated words: Common words, such as "Journal" or "Magazine," are abbreviated (e.g., "J." for "Journal").
  3. Word order: The order of words in the title is preserved, with some exceptions (e.g., "Am J Surg" for "American Journal of Surgery").

: Provides the rules for constructing abbreviations if a journal is not listed. National Institutes of Health (.gov) 2. How to Use the NLM Catalog Navigate to the NLM Catalog Type the full journal title into the search box. Initials : The first letter or letters of

  • Single-Word Titles: Journals with single-word titles are never abbreviated.

    The NLM continues to update its catalog. As new journals launch (e.g., Nature Reviews Bioengineering , which abbreviates to Nat Rev Bioeng ), the library assigns new abbreviations following the classic Index Medicus logic. : Provides the rules for constructing abbreviations if

    • Example: "Journal of Clinical Oncology" becomes J Clin Oncol.

    Challenges and Limitations