Chicago 17th Edition — PubMed & PMC

Chicago Citation Generator for PubMed Articles

Paste a PMID, PMC ID, or PubMed URL to get a Chicago citation with verified metadata. Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date — both supported, DOI included.

Search papers or paste DOI

How to cite a pubmed article in Chicago

Search for the pubmed article

Paste a DOI, URL, ISBN, title, or author name to find the exact source record.

Check the Chicago formatting fields

Verify author, year, title, container, and publication details before copying the final citation.

Copy the formatted result

Get the complete Chicago citation plus the matching in-text citation or footnote format.

Chicago Format for PubMed Articles

Notes-Bibliography (footnote):

First Last, "Article Title," Journal volume, no. issue (Year): page, DOI.

Notes-Bibliography (Bibliography):

Last, First. "Article Title." Journal volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI.

Author-Date (Reference list):

Last, First. Year. "Article Title." Journal volume (issue): pages. DOI.

Shortened footnote (subsequent):

Last, "Short Title," page.

Chicago PubMed Citation Examples

Journal article (Notes-Bibliography footnote)

John Smith and Mary Johnson, "Machine Learning in Healthcare Diagnostics," Nature Medicine 29, no. 4 (2024): 130, https://doi.org/10.1038/example.

Standard Chicago biomedical footnote format

Journal article (Bibliography)

Smith, John, and Mary Johnson. "Machine Learning in Healthcare Diagnostics." Nature Medicine 29, no. 4 (2024): 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1038/example.

Bibliography entry — invert first author

Journal article (Author-Date)

Smith, John, and Mary Johnson. 2024. "Machine Learning in Healthcare Diagnostics." Nature Medicine 29 (4): 123-145. https://doi.org/10.1038/example.

Author-Date variant

Open-access PMC article

Williams, Anna. "Climate Change Impacts." Environmental Science 45, no. 2 (2024): 78-95. https://doi.org/10.1234/example.

PMC open-access cites identically — DOI is enough

Shortened footnote (subsequent reference)

Smith and Johnson, "Machine Learning," 142.

After first full citation, shorten to first author + short title + page

Examples formatted in Chicago style

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a PubMed article in Chicago Notes-Bibliography style?

Footnote: First Last, "Article Title," Journal Name volume, no. issue (Year): pages, DOI. Bibliography: Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name volume, no. issue (Year): pages. DOI. Always include the DOI from PubMed when available — Chicago 17th edition prefers DOIs over PubMed URLs.

How do you cite a PubMed article in Chicago Author-Date style?

In-text: (Last Year, page). Reference list: Last, First. Year. "Article Title." Journal Name volume (issue): pages. DOI. Author-Date is more common in social-science Chicago papers; for biomedical work most journals prefer Notes-Bibliography or AMA.

Should I use the PMID or DOI in Chicago citations?

Use the DOI. Chicago 17th edition treats DOIs as the durable identifier — format as a URL: https://doi.org/10.xxxx. The PMID is auxiliary and not required by Chicago. CiteMe pulls both from PubMed but renders the DOI in the formatted citation.

How do I cite a PMC (PubMed Central) article in Chicago?

PMC articles cite identically to PubMed articles — use the journal metadata and DOI, not the PMC URL. The PMC ID can be added in brackets if your instructor requires it: ..., DOI [PMC ID].

How do you cite an open-access PubMed article in Chicago?

Open access changes nothing in the citation. Use the standard journal-article format with DOI. Chicago does not require an "open access" label in the reference. The DOI links readers to the published version regardless of access tier.

How do I find the volume and issue number from a PubMed article?

PubMed displays the journal citation line at the top of every record: "J Name. 2024 Mar;29(4):123-145. doi: 10.xxxx". Volume = 29, Issue = 4, Pages = 123-145. CiteMe parses this automatically when you paste the PMID or URL.

How do I cite a Chicago footnote with a shortened reference for a PubMed article?

After the first full citation, use the shortened form: First Last, "Short Title," page. Example: 1. John Smith, "Machine Learning," Nature Medicine 29, no. 4 (2024): 130. 5. Smith, "Machine Learning," 142. Always shorten the title to 4 words or less.