MLA 9th Edition — PubMed & PMC

MLA 9 Citation Generator for PubMed Articles

Paste a PMID, PMCID, or PubMed URL to get a verified MLA 9 citation instantly. Useful for medical humanities, bioethics, and interdisciplinary science-humanities papers.

Search papers or paste DOI

How to cite a pubmed article in MLA

Search for the pubmed article

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

Check the MLA formatting fields

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

Copy the formatted result

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

MLA 9 Format for PubMed Articles

Standard (with DOI):

Author Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, Year, pp. Z-Z, doi.org/xxxxx

PMC article (with PMC URL):

Author Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, Year, p. X, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMCxxxxxxx/

MLA 9 PubMed Citation Examples

PubMed article (with DOI)

Lastname, Firstname, and Firstname Other. "Title of the Journal Article." Journal Name, vol. 29, no. 4, 2024, pp. 123-45, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-00001-2.

Paste PMID: 38123456 — CiteMe adds the DOI automatically

PMC article (PMC URL)

Lastname, Firstname. "Title of the Study." Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, vol. 54, 2022, p. jrm00275, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMCxxxxxxx/.

Paste a PMC URL

In-text citation

Parenthetical: (Lastname 135). Narrative: Lastname argues that... (135). MLA uses author-page, not author-year.

MLA in-text cites page numbers, not years

Examples formatted in MLA style

Frequently Asked Questions

When would I cite a PubMed article in MLA?

MLA is standard in humanities (literature, languages, cultural studies). PubMed articles show up in MLA papers when you write about medical history, bioethics, public health in the humanities, medical humanities, or interdisciplinary science-and-society topics. Paste the PMID and select MLA 9.

How do you cite a journal article in MLA 9?

MLA 9 template: Author Last, First. "Article Title." Journal Name, vol. X, no. Y, Year, pp. Z-Z. DOI or URL. Example: Lastname, Firstname. "Title of the Article." Journal Name, vol. 29, no. 4, 2024, pp. 123-45, doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-00001-2.

Do I include a PMID in MLA 9?

Not required. MLA 9 uses DOI or URL as the location element. If the article has a DOI, include it; otherwise, use the PubMed or PMC URL. The PMID itself is not part of the MLA 9 reference format.

What is a PMID?

A PMID (PubMed Identifier) is a unique number assigned to every article indexed in PubMed, the biomedical literature database. It appears below the article title. Example: PMID: 38123456. CiteMe fetches the article metadata when you paste the PMID.

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

Paste the PMC URL (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMCxxxxxxx/) into CiteMe. The tool retrieves journal name, volume, issue, pages, and DOI, then generates an MLA 9 citation with the DOI as the location element (MLA 9 prefers DOI when available).

Does MLA require the page range for journal articles?

Yes. MLA 9 requires "pp. X-Y" for page ranges in journal articles. If the article has a single page, use "p. X". For online-only articles without continuous pagination, omit the page range and include the DOI or URL as the location element.