Vancouver reference style examples follow one pattern: references are numbered in the order they are first cited, authors appear as surname plus initials without full stops, journal titles use NLM abbreviations, and the DOI goes last. The worked examples below cover twelve source types, each with its pattern and an invented citation to copy.
The Vancouver reference style takes its name from a 1978 meeting in Vancouver of the group that became the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE does not publish its own formatting manual. Its ICMJE Recommendations point authors to the sample references maintained by the US National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the full rules live in NLM's Citing Medicine. Individual journals then add their own variations, so the journal's instructions always win.
This post is a working reference for one style. If you are still choosing between styles, start with our comparison of APA, Vancouver and MLA citation styles.
Vancouver reference style numbers sources in order of first citation
Each source gets a number the first time you cite it in the text. That number stays with the source for the whole manuscript. If reference 4 is cited again in the discussion, it is still 4. The reference list is printed in numerical order, not alphabetical order.
- Use square brackets [1], round brackets (1) or superscript numbers, as the journal specifies. Do not mix them.
- Many journals cite a run of three or more consecutive numbers as a range, such as [3-5], and separate non-consecutive numbers with commas, such as [2,7,9]. Check the journal's own rule.
- References cited only in tables or figure legends take their number from where the table or figure is first mentioned in the text.
- Place the marker next to the claim it supports, not only at the end of a paragraph.
Author names use surname and initials with no full stops
NLM style writes each author as the surname followed by up to two initials, with no full stops and no space between the initials. For example, write Marsh KL rather than Marsh, K. L. in the list. Authors are separated by a comma and a space, and the author list ends with a full stop.
Keep hyphenated and compound surnames as the author uses them. Keep particles such as "van" or "de" with the surname if the author does. Omit academic degrees and titles. When an organisation is the author, write its full name in place of the personal names.
The number of authors to list varies. Citing Medicine itself recommends listing all authors, but it allows a publisher to set a limit. Many journals list the first six authors followed by "et al." when there are more than six. Others use three. Follow the journal's instructions, and never cut the list short when the journal asks for every name.
Journal titles take the NLM abbreviation
A Vancouver citation abbreviates the journal title the way NLM does, without full stops: for example, "J" for Journal and "Med" for Medicine. Do not invent abbreviations. Look up the exact form in the NLM Catalog, which lists the NLM title abbreviation for each journal it covers. For a journal the catalogue does not list, Citing Medicine abbreviates each significant word using standard title-word abbreviations (its Appendix A) and drops words such as "of" and "the". Single-word titles, such as Virology, are never abbreviated.
Dates, volume, issue and pages sit in a fixed order
For a journal article the order is year, then month if used, a semicolon, the volume, the issue in brackets, a colon and the page range. There are no spaces around the semicolon or colon: 2025 Mar;18(3):214-22.
NLM style shortens page ranges by dropping repeated leading digits, so pages 214 to 222 become 214-22. Some journals print the full range instead. Articles with an article number rather than pages use that number in the page position, for example :e0142.
The DOI goes at the end of the reference
A digital object identifier (DOI) is the persistent link to the published version, and our guide to what a DOI is and how it resolves explains why it outlasts a web address. In Vancouver style it goes last, after the page range. Journals differ on the form: some print doi: 10.xxxx/..., others a full https://doi.org/10.xxxx/... link. Citing Medicine itself varies: its print-journal example ends the DOI with a full stop, while its internet examples place the DOI after the URL with none. Many journals omit that final full stop so the link copies cleanly. Whichever form you use, keep it the same throughout the list.
Worked Vancouver reference style examples for twelve source types
Every author, title, journal, publisher and DOI in this table is invented to illustrate the format. "J Example Med" and "Example Clin Rev" are fictional journals. Replace each part with the details of your own source.
| Source type | Pattern | Invented example |
|---|---|---|
| Journal article, up to six authors | Author AA, Author BB. Title of article. Abbrev Journal. Year Mon;Vol(Issue):pages. doi: 10.xxxx/... | Marsh KL, Oduya PT, Venn RS. Early mobilisation after hip fracture surgery: a cohort study. J Example Med. 2025 Mar;18(3):214-22. doi: 10.xxxx/jem.2025.0314 |
| Journal article, more than six authors | First six authors, et al. Title. Abbrev Journal. Year;Vol(Issue):pages. doi: ... | Hale DM, Quist AB, Farrow LN, Ibe CO, Lund ST, Moss GR, et al. Sleep duration and wound healing in older adults. Example Clin Rev. 2024;9(2):88-97. doi: 10.xxxx/ecr.2024.0207 |
| Group or organisation as author | Group name. Title. Abbrev Journal. Year;Vol(Issue):pages. doi: ... | Example Surgical Outcomes Collaborative. Readmission after day-case hernia repair. J Example Med. 2023;16(8):601-9. doi: 10.xxxx/jem.2023.0816 |
| Article published online before the print issue | Author AA. Title. Abbrev Journal. Year Mon;Vol(Issue):pages. Epub Year Mon Day. | Tarrant EJ, Bello NF. Serum ferritin as a marker of frailty. Example Clin Rev. 2026 Jun;11(3):201-9. Epub 2026 Mar 3. |
| Book, whole | Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year. | Penrose HT. Handbook of perioperative care. 2nd ed. Oxford (UK): Example Academic Press; 2024. |
| Chapter in an edited book | Chapter author. Chapter title. In: Editor AA, editor. Book title. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year. p. first-last. | Dunmore CA. Fluid balance in the elderly. In: Penrose HT, Adeyemi KO, editors. Handbook of perioperative care. 2nd ed. Oxford (UK): Example Academic Press; 2024. p. 145-62. |
| Web page | Author or organisation. Title [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [updated Year Mon Day; cited Year Mon Day]. Available from: URL | Example Health Foundation. Choosing a hearing aid [Internet]. Oxford (UK): Example Health Foundation; 2025 [updated 2026 Jan 5; cited 2026 Sep 10]. Available from: https://www.example.org/hearing-aids |
| Guideline or report | Organisation. Title. Place: Publisher; Year. Report No.: ... | Example Council on Infection Control. Hand hygiene in outpatient clinics: national guideline. Oxford (UK): The Council; 2025. Report No.: GL-2025-12. |
| Conference abstract in a journal supplement | Author AA. Title [abstract]. Abbrev Journal. Year;Vol Suppl No:page. | Ferris GL, Nakuru WM. Telephone follow-up after cataract surgery [abstract]. J Example Med. 2025;18 Suppl 2:S45. |
| Preprint | Author AA. Title. Server name [Preprint]. Year Mon Day [cited Year Mon Day]. Available from: https://doi.org/... | Okwu JB, Strand EM. Vitamin D status in night-shift nurses. Example Preprint Server [Preprint]. 2026 Feb 11 [cited 2026 Sep 10]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/eps.2026.0211 |
| Dataset | Author AA. Title [dataset]. Version. Year Mon Day [cited Year Mon Day]. Repository name. Available from: https://doi.org/... | Marsh KL, Oduya PT. Hip fracture mobilisation cohort: anonymised data [dataset]. Version 2.1. 2025 Nov 4 [cited 2026 Sep 10]. Example Data Repository. Available from: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/edr.2025.771 |
| Thesis or dissertation | Author AA. Title [dissertation or master's thesis]. Place: University; Year. | Linwood RA. Pain scores after knee replacement in rural hospitals [dissertation]. Oxford (UK): Example University; 2023. |
Notes on the trickier rows
- Online before print: NLM keeps the online date as "Epub" after the print details. If the article has no volume, issue or pages yet, journals vary, so follow the journal's form and update the reference once the issue is published.
- Web pages: the "cited" date is the date you consulted the page. Include an "updated" date only if the page shows one.
- Preprints: Citing Medicine (chapter 14) gives preprint examples rather than detailed rules, with "[Preprint]" after the server name, so journals vary. Label the item clearly as a preprint, and cite the peer-reviewed version instead if one has since been published.
- Datasets and software: the dataset row follows NLM's simplified format. Always give the version. The guide to citing data, software and code explains why the version matters and where the citation belongs in the paper.
- Theses: use "[dissertation]" for a doctoral thesis and "[master's thesis]" for a master's degree.
Check the finished list against the source, not the formatter
A reference manager can apply a Vancouver output style, but it only formats the metadata it captured. It will reproduce a wrong page range or a misspelt name perfectly. Before submission, resolve each DOI, match the details against the publisher's page and reconcile every in-text number with the list. The routine in checking your reference list before you submit walks through each pass.
Journals set their own variations on these patterns, so read the target journal's author instructions before formatting; ours are on the Author Guidelines page. If you spot an error in this guide or in an article we have published, please tell us how to correct it.