MEDLINE / NBIB to APA Converter
Paste PubMed MEDLINE / NBIB exports and get APA 7th edition references with full DOI links. Designed for health-science students. Free, no signup.
Free to use — no account required
What to do next
How it works
Step 1
Export MEDLINE from PubMed
In PubMed: select records > Send to > Citation manager > Format: MEDLINE. Save the .txt or .nbib file (or copy the content directly).
Step 2
Paste into the converter
Paste the MEDLINE-formatted text into CiteMe. Each record starts with PMID and ends before the next blank line.
Step 3
Copy APA references
CiteMe parses MEDLINE tags (PMID, AU, TI, JT, DP, VI, IP, PG, AID, LID) and outputs APA 7th edition references — author, year, title, journal, volume(issue), pages, DOI link.
Why use CiteMe for MEDLINE to APA?
APA 7th Edition
Author format (Last, F. M.), italic journal/volume, hanging indent, full DOI links (https://doi.org/...) — all per APA 7th edition rules. Truncates author lists per the 20-author rule.
Native MEDLINE Parser
Reads PubMed MEDLINE / NBIB tag-based records directly. Multi-line title and author fields are handled correctly. No round-trip through Zotero or EndNote.
Bulk Conversion
Paste a full PubMed MEDLINE export (up to 200 records). Pro plan converts the entire batch into a single APA reference list — useful for systematic reviews and PRISMA screening.
DOI Always Included
APA 7 requires DOIs when available. CiteMe pulls DOIs from MEDLINE `LID` and `AID` tags and formats each as a clickable https://doi.org/ link.
MEDLINE to APA — example
MEDLINE input
PMID- 12345678
TI - Machine Learning in
Healthcare Diagnostics
AU - Smith JD
AU - Johnson MR
TA - N Engl J Med
JT - The New England Journal of
Medicine
DP - 2024 Apr
VI - 390
IP - 12
PG - 1123-1135
AID - 10.1056/NEJMoa2400001 [doi]APA 7 output
In-text: (Smith & Johnson, 2024)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MEDLINE format and how do I export it?
MEDLINE is the tag-based reference format used by PubMed. In PubMed: select records > Send to > Citation manager > Format: "MEDLINE". Save the .txt or .nbib file. Each record has tags like PMID, AU, TI, JT, DP, VI, IP, PG, AID. Paste the file content here for APA conversion.
Why convert MEDLINE to APA directly?
Health sciences students often work in PubMed but need APA-formatted references for psychology, public health, or nursing coursework. Going PubMed → MEDLINE → APA in one paste avoids the Zotero/EndNote round trip and works without an account.
Which APA edition does this output?
APA 7th edition (the current standard, published 2019). Author format: Last, F. M. (year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Name, volume(issue), pages. https://doi.org/... — journal title and volume number appear italicised in the rendered output.
Can I paste a full PubMed MEDLINE export at once?
Yes. PubMed allows up to 200 records per MEDLINE export. Free plan converts up to 3 records per submission; Pro converts the full export to a single APA reference list — useful for systematic reviews and literature reviews.
How does the journal title appear?
APA uses the full journal title (italicised). MEDLINE includes both `JT` (full title) and `TA` (NLM-abbreviated). The converter uses the full `JT` field to match APA convention. If your MEDLINE export only has `TA`, the converter falls back to that.
Does it handle the "et al." rule correctly for APA 7?
Yes. APA 7 lists up to 20 authors before truncating with "..." and the last author name. CiteMe applies that rule. For in-text citations, "et al." kicks in at 3+ authors (e.g., "Smith et al., 2024").
Is the DOI included?
Yes. APA 7 requires a DOI when one exists, formatted as a clickable link: https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2400001. The DOI is read from MEDLINE's `LID` or `AID` tag and appended to each reference.
Keep the medical reference workflow moving
After converting MEDLINE to APA, the next step is usually getting BibTeX for an Overleaf project, looking up specific PMIDs, or formatting in Vancouver for a different journal.
Paste MEDLINE / NBIB. Get APA 7 references. No signup required.
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