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AMA Manual of Style Committee

Contents

Subentry Levels

Chapter:
Medical Indexes
Author(s):

Cheryl Iverson,

Stacy Christiansen,

Annette Flanagin,

Phil B. Fontanarosa,

Richard M. Glass,

Brenda Gregoline,

Stephen J. Lurie,

Harriet S. Meyer,

Margaret A. Winker,

Roxanne K. Young

13.2.6 Subentry Levels

Tullar2 recommends using more main entries or first-level subentries rather than going beyond a third level of subentry, as in this example, adapted from Tullar2:

Not:

cancer

 treatment of

  pharmacologic

   cyclophosphamide for

    adverse effects of

     thrombocytopenia

Preferred:

cancer

 treatment of

  pharmacologic

  See also individual drugs

chemotherapy

 adverse effects of

  See also individual drugs

cyclophosphamide

 adverse effects of

  thrombocytopenia from

drug-induced disorders

 from cyclophosphamide

 thrombocytopenia

thrombocytopenia

 from cyclophosphamide

 drug-induced

Even when a main heading cites the entire page range of the discussion of a particular topic, it is useful to include subtopics as subentries so that the reader is aware that the subtopic has been covered in that discussion, as well as elsewhere in the text.8 The following example is based on Blake et al.8

neurological disorders, 210–281

 diagnostic procedures, 210–224, 343–345