13 Medical Indexes

Include only abbreviations used in the text being indexed (ie, if a text uses only an expanded form, eg, National Institutes of Health, but never the abbreviation, do not include “NIH” in the index).Abbreviations are listed alphabetically among other entries (examples from Thomas,).catheterizationCAT scan. See computed tomographycat-scratch diseaseCEA (carcinoembryonic antigen)cecum ectopic ACTH syndrome, 106, 107, 109ectopic kidney, 2226ectopic pregnancy, 1947, 2055 2056Identical abbreviations are sorted by case; be consistent throughout the index, eg, HeV, 232HEV, 330 331 PaO2, 464PAO2, 251Use cross-references and expansions with abbreviations, as in these examples (first set from Thomas).CAT scan. See computed tomographycomputed tomography (CT, CAT ...Less

Alphabetization in indexes begins with the first letter of the term, eg, G periodG phaseG proteinCommas precede letters in sorting order (examples from Thomas).cold, commoncold agglutinin disease Vibrio, noncholeraVibrio cholerae infectionOther punctuation is ignored. Omsk hemorrhagic fever virusO'nyong-nyong virusFor entries that are identical except for case, choose whether uppercase or lowercase will take precedence in sorting and be consistent throughout the index. abl1, 99, 106 110Abl1, 95, 100 103 Brca1, 112BRCA1, 54, 804 809When an identifier in parentheses is used to clarify similar terms, the identifier may be included in sorting (follow house style).Abl1 (mouse gene), 95, 100 103Abl1 (mouse ...Less

Although main entries have traditionally featured initial capitals to distinguish them from subentries, The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, recommends lowercase, except when the entry term would begin with a capital, eg, proper nouns. This is especially worthwhile in biomedical publications, in which capitalization may be complex and may distinguish otherwise identical terms.AFP. See α-fetoproteinAfp, 98AFP, 103 Brca1, 112BRCA1, 54, 804 809breast cancer, 50 57, 110 113, 801 815 Haemophilus influenzae Rd, 998hepatitis, 1015 1028HindIII, 698 LPL. See lipoprotein lipaseLPL, 1092 Staphylococcus aureus, 1056 1077. See also staphylococci ...Less

A text may not be consistent in style for particular terms, eg, italics or hyphens, but the index should be stylistically consistent. If no style predominates for a given term used throughout the text, the indexer should check with the editor or consult the publisher’s stylebook for the form to be followed in the index. It is hoped that authors will use, and publishers will recommend, official style when that is an option (consult , Nomenclature), eg, italicizing gene symbols (BRCA1). ...Less

In indented style, main headings are followed by indented subheadings, each on its own line. In run-in style, subheadings appear continuously, not on separate lines, and are separated by commas.Indented:SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), 75 79, 145 148 in China, 187 189 drug therapy for  antibiotics, 18, 20  corticosteroids, 357  interferon alfa, 402 etiology of, 93, 105, 117 quarantine for, 167, 235 in Toronto, 280 Run-in:SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), 75 79, 145 148, in China, 187 189, drug therapy for, 18, 20, 357, 402, etiology of, 93, 105, 117, quarantine for, 167, 235, in Toronto, 280The indented style is better suited for medical indexes because complex terms ...Less

The style of terms in the index must be the same as the style in the text.Alphabetization in indexes begins with the first letter of the term, eg, G periodG phaseG proteinCommas precede letters in sorting order (examples from Thomas).cold, commoncold agglutinin disease Vibrio, noncholeraVibrio cholerae infectionOther punctuation is ignored. Omsk hemorrhagic fever virusO'nyong-nyong virusFor entries that are identical except for case, choose whether uppercase or lowercase will take precedence in sorting and be consistent throughout the index. abl1, 99, 106 110Abl1, 95, 100 103 Brca1, 112BRCA1, 54, 804 809When an identifier in parentheses is used to clarify similar terms, ...Less

These are 2 styles of alphabetization. Letter-by-letter considers all letters of the entire entry, ignoring spaces between words. Word-by-word sorts by the first word of an entry term, then the next word. Letter-by-letter alphabetization is commonly used by scholarly publishers and is the familiar arrangement found in dictionaries and encyclopedias., Word-by-word sorting might result in more informative groupings of terms, especially multipart terms,, but in medical indexes letter-by-letter sorting usually allows readers to locate terms equally well. Consult indexing texts for detailed descriptions of these 2 methods of sorting. The publisher may specify a sorting style. The following examples are ...Less

Locators are the citations commonly, page numbers in print indexes that follow the entry to indicate where the material about that entry is found. Locators may also be paragraph numbers, line numbers, section numbers, volume-page number combinations, figure identifiers in atlases, hyperlinks in online indexes, etc. American Society of Indexers guidelines recommend that no more than 5 to 7 locators per term be given. When more than 7 locators accumulate under one heading (ie, 7 “undifferentiated locators”), the indexer should consider breaking them down under subheadings. This will produce a more usable index. Not:SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), 18, 20, ...Less