How to format your references using the BMC Physiology citation style

This is a short guide how to format citations and the bibliography in a manuscript for BMC Physiology. For a complete guide how to prepare your manuscript refer to the journal's instructions to authors.

Using reference management software

Typically you don't format your citations and bibliography by hand. The easiest way is to use a reference manager:

Paperpile	The citation style is built in and you can choose it in Settings > Citation Style or Paperpile > Citation Style in Google Docs.
EndNote	Download the output style file
Mendeley, Zotero, Papers, and others	The style is either built in or you can download a CSL file that is supported by most references management programs.
BibTeX	BibTeX syles are usually part of a LaTeX template. Check the instructions to authors if the publisher offers a LaTeX template for this journal.

Journal articles

Those examples are references to articles in scholarly journals and how they are supposed to appear in your bibliography.

Not all journals organize their published articles in volumes and issues, so these fields are optional. Some electronic journals do not provide a page range, but instead list an article identifier. In a case like this it's safe to use the article identifier instead of the page range.

A journal article with 1 author

1. Ransohoff RM. Physiology. Good barriers make good neighbors. Science. 2014;346:36–7.

A journal article with 2 authors

1. Abrahamsen H, Stenmark H. Cell biology. Growth signaling from inside. Science. 2011;334:611–2.

A journal article with 3 authors

1. Hampshire A, MacDonald A, Owen AM. Hypoconnectivity and hyperfrontality in retired American football players. Sci Rep. 2013;3:2972.

A journal article with 7 or more authors

1. Rosi NL, Giljohann DA, Thaxton CS, Lytton-Jean AKR, Han MS, Mirkin CA. Oligonucleotide-modified gold nanoparticles for intracellular gene regulation. Science. 2006;312:1027–30.

Books and book chapters

Here are examples of references for authored and edited books as well as book chapters.

An authored book

1. Bishop CA. Roll-to-Roll Vacuum Deposition of Barrier Coatings. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2015.

An edited book

1. Ganz PA, editor. Improving Outcomes for Breast Cancer Survivors: Perspectives on Research Challenges and Opportunities. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2015.

A chapter in an edited book

1. De Lucia G. Galaxy Evolution in the Era of Digital Surveys: A Theoretical Overview. In: Napolitano NR, Longo G, Marconi M, Paolillo M, Iodice E, editors. The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys: A Meeting to Honour the 70th Birthday of Massimo Capaccioli. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2016. p. 33–40.

Web sites

Sometimes references to web sites should appear directly in the text rather than in the bibliography. Refer to the Instructions to authors for BMC Physiology.

Blog post

1. O`Callaghan J. This “Space Glass” Lets You Drink Whiskey In Orbit. IFLScience. 2015. https://www.iflscience.com/space/space-glass-could-apparently-let-you-drink-whiskey-orbit/. Accessed 30 Oct 2018.

Reports

This example shows the general structure used for government reports, technical reports, and scientific reports. If you can't locate the report number then it might be better to cite the report as a book. For reports it is usually not individual people that are credited as authors, but a governmental department or agency like "U. S. Food and Drug Administration" or "National Cancer Institute".

Government report

1. Government Accountability Office. Airline Deregulation: Changes in Airfares and Service at Four South Carolina Communities. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 1999.

Theses and dissertations

Theses including Ph.D. dissertations, Master's theses or Bachelor theses follow the basic format outlined below.

Doctoral dissertation

1. Picchini AM. Neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus: Modulation of stem cell fate by experience. Doctoral dissertation. Columbia University; 2010.

News paper articles

Unlike scholarly journals, news papers do not usually have a volume and issue number. Instead, the full date and page number is required for a correct reference.

New York Times article

1. Lyman R, Walsh MW. Bankrupt City Fighting to Open a Crack in California’s Pension Agency. New York Times. 2014;:A11.

In-text citations

References should be cited in the text by sequential numbers in square brackets:

This sentence cites one reference [1].
This sentence cites two references [1, 2].
This sentence cites four references [1–4].

About the journal

Full journal title	BMC Physiology
Abbreviation	BMC Physiol.
ISSN (online)	1472-6793
Scope	Physiology General Medicine Physiology (medical)