PaperCitation

Glossary

PMID (PubMed ID)

Last reviewed , against the official sources listed below.

The unique number of a record in PubMed, the database of biomedical and life-sciences literature. It isn't the same as a PMCID.

A PMID identifies a citation record in PubMed: the article’s details and usually its abstract.

PMID: 12345678

A PMCID, which starts with “PMC”, is different: it identifies a free full-text copy in PubMed Central. An article can have a PMID, a PMCID, both or neither, so having a PMID doesn’t mean the full text is free.

PaperCitation can look up a reference by its PMID.

Official sources

We paraphrase official guidance and link to it. When in doubt, follow the source and your instructor.

Related terms