AMA Reference List

    Create comprehensive reference lists following AMA style for medical publications

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    Published: September 15, 2025
    By heypaperhero Team

    Reference List Basics

    AMA reference lists are numbered consecutively in the order sources appear in the text. The list appears at the end of the manuscript under the heading "References".

    Key Guidelines:

    • • Number references consecutively (1. 2. 3...)
    • • List in order of first appearance in text
    • • Use Index Medicus journal abbreviations
    • • Include up to 6 authors; use "et al" for more
    • • Double-space entire reference list
    • • Use hanging indent for each reference

    Journal Articles

    Standard Format:

    Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Journal Name. Year;volume(issue):pages.

    Examples:

    1. Smith J, Wilson K, Brown M. Effects of cardiovascular therapy on patient outcomes. J Cardiol. 2023;45(3):123-135.

    2. Johnson A, Davis R, Miller S, et al. Long-term efficacy of combination therapy in diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2023;46(8):1456-1468.

    💡 Journal Abbreviations

    Use Index Medicus abbreviations: JAMA for Journal of the American Medical Association,N Engl J Med for New England Journal of Medicine.

    Books and Book Chapters

    Entire Book:

    Author AA. Title of Book. Edition ed. City, State: Publisher; Year.

    Book Chapter:

    Author AA. Chapter title. In: Editor BB, ed. Book Title. City, State: Publisher; Year:pages.

    Examples:

    3. Harrison TR. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2023.

    4. Smith J. Cardiovascular disease prevention. In: Johnson A, ed. Modern Cardiology. Boston, MA: Medical Publishers; 2023:45-67.

    Electronic Sources

    Online Journal Article:

    Author AA. Article title. Journal Name. Year;volume(issue):pages. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxxx

    Website:

    Organization. Title of webpage. Website name. Published date. Updated date. Accessed date. URL

    Examples:

    5. Wilson K, Brown M. Digital health interventions in chronic disease management. J Med Internet Res. 2023;25(4):e12345. doi:10.2196/12345

    6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart disease facts. CDC website. Published February 7, 2023. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

    Special Publication Types

    Conference Abstract

    7. Miller S, Davis R. Novel treatment approaches in oncology [abstract]. Proceedings of the Annual Cancer Conference; June 15-17, 2023; Chicago, IL. Abstract 123.

    Thesis/Dissertation

    8. Johnson A. Molecular mechanisms in drug resistance [dissertation]. Boston, MA: Harvard University; 2023.

    Government Report

    9. National Institutes of Health. Health disparities in cardiovascular disease. NIH Publication No. 23-123. Bethesda, MD: NIH; 2023.

    Sample Reference List

    Here's an example of a properly formatted AMA reference list:

    References

    1. Smith J, Wilson K. Cardiovascular risk assessment in elderly patients. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2023;20(4):234-245.

    2. Brown M, Davis R, Miller S, et al. Efficacy of combination therapy in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2023;46(5):892-901.

    3. Harrison TR. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 20th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2023.

    4. World Health Organization. Global burden of disease report. WHO website. Published March 15, 2023. Accessed October 15, 2023. https://www.who.int/data/global-burden-disease

    5. Johnson A. Precision medicine in oncology [dissertation]. Boston, MA: Harvard University; 2023.