Vancouver Format

    Master the formatting guidelines for Vancouver citation style in medical and scientific writing

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    Published: September 15, 2025
    By heypaperhero Team

    General Paper Format

    Vancouver format follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, designed specifically for medical and scientific publications.

    Key Format Requirements:

    • • 12-point Times New Roman font
    • • Double-spaced throughout
    • • 1-inch margins on all sides
    • • Numbered pages (top right corner)
    • • Left-aligned text
    • • Arabic numerals for citations

    Title Page Structure

    Vancouver style requires a structured title page with specific elements for medical manuscripts.

    Title of Research Paper

    Author Name¹, Co-author Name²

    ¹Department, Institution, City, Country

    ²Department, Institution, City, Country

    Corresponding author: email@institution.edu

    Section Organization

    Medical manuscripts follow a standard structure known as IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion).

    Required Sections:

    • • Abstract
    • • Keywords
    • • Introduction
    • • Methods
    • • Results
    • • Discussion
    • • References

    Optional Sections:

    • • Acknowledgments
    • • Conflict of Interest
    • • Funding
    • • Appendices
    • • Supplementary Material

    Abstract Format

    The abstract should be structured with clear subheadings and limited to 250 words for most journals.

    Abstract Structure:

    Background: Context and rationale
    Objective: Study aims
    Methods: Study design and participants
    Results: Key findings
    Conclusion: Clinical implications

    Table and Figure Format

    Tables and figures require specific formatting and should be self-explanatory with detailed captions.

    Table Format:

    • • Number consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.)
    • • Place title above the table
    • • Use horizontal lines only
    • • Define abbreviations in footnotes

    Figure Format:

    • • Number consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.)
    • • Place caption below the figure
    • • Use high-resolution images (300 DPI minimum)
    • • Include scale bars where appropriate

    Reference List Format

    References are numbered consecutively in order of appearance and listed at the end of the manuscript.

    Reference List Guidelines:

    • • Number references consecutively
    • • List in order of first citation in text
    • • Use abbreviated journal names
    • • Include all authors up to 6; use "et al." for more
    • • Follow NLM citation guidelines