Vancouver · Standard

How to Cite a Book in Vancouver Style

Complete Vancouver style guide for book citations. Medical referencing with numbered system.

Quick Answer

To cite a book in Vancouver style, use: Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year. Write author initials without periods or spaces between them — "Kumar V" not "Kumar, V." or "V. Kumar." This compact format is unique to Vancouver among major citation styles. Do not italicize the book title, which differs from APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Include the edition number if not the first (e.g., 10th ed.). Place a semicolon (not a comma or colon) between the publisher and the year. List up to 6 authors; for 7 or more, list the first 6 followed by "et al." In-text citations use numbered references: (1). Example: Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021. For book chapters, add: Chapter title. In: Editor, editor. Book title. Place: Publisher; Year. p. xx-xx. CiteMe formats medical textbooks and clinical references in Vancouver style with correct author initial spacing.

By CiteMe Editorial Team·Updated March 27, 2026

Quick answer: To cite a book in Vancouver (Standard), use this template: Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year.

Citation template

Author AA. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year.

Full example

Reference / Bibliography

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

In-text citation

(1)

Source breakdown

author: Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC
title: Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease
edition: 10th ed.
location: Philadelphia
publisher: Elsevier
year: 2021

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Tips

✓Use initials without periods or spaces
✓Include edition number
✓No italics for titles (unlike other styles)
✓Semicolon before year

Common mistakes

⚠Adding periods between initials
⚠Italicizing the title
⚠Using comma instead of semicolon before year
⚠Omitting place of publication

Before & after

Periods between author initials

Wrong

Kumar, V., Abbas, A.K., Aster, J.C. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

Correct

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

Vancouver writes author initials without periods or spaces between them and without commas before the initials. Write "Kumar V" not "Kumar, V." — this compact format is unique to Vancouver.

Italicized book title

Wrong

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

Correct

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

Vancouver style does not use italics for book titles. This differs from APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago, which all italicize book titles.

Comma instead of semicolon before year

Wrong

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier, 2021.

Correct

Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.

Vancouver uses a semicolon between the publisher and the year, not a comma. The semicolon is part of Vancouver's distinctive punctuation pattern: Place: Publisher; Year.