Use Chicago’s Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date, start with a book header, write the critique, then finish with a full citation and any disclosures.
Chicago Choices At A Glance
Chicago gives you two ways to cite. Many history-leaning outlets prefer Notes-Bibliography. Science-leaning outlets often use Author-Date. If your editor or instructor names one, follow that. When in doubt, scan the journal’s recent reviews and match their pattern.
| Part Of The Review | Notes-Bibliography (NB) | Author-Date (AD) |
|---|---|---|
| In-text citation | Superscript note numbers tied to footnotes or endnotes | Parentheses with author year and page: (Smith 2024, 117) |
| Reference at end | Full bibliography of sources you cited | Reference list titled “References” |
| Best fit | Humanities-style venues and narrative reviews | Clinical or research-leaning venues |
| Official samples | CMOS Notes & Bibliography | CMOS Author-Date guide |
Formatting A Medical Book Review In Chicago Style: Step-By-Step
Pick The System (NB Or Author-Date)
Match your venue. If the outlet already prints footnotes, NB is the easy pick. If the outlet uses parenthetical citations, go with AD. Either path is fine so long as you stay consistent.
Assemble The Bibliographic Header
Open your review with a one-paragraph block that tells readers exactly which book you read. Keep it lean and useful.
- Book author or editor: use full names, adding “ed.” or “eds.” for edited volumes.
- Title: italicize the book title; capitalise headline-style.
- Edition and volume: note “2nd ed.”, “Vol. 3”, or both when relevant.
- Place, publisher, year: “New York: McGraw-Hill, 2025”.
- Pagination and format: “xxii + 518 pp.; hardcover”.
- Identifiers: add ISBN or DOI if supplied.
Here’s a sample header for an edited clinical text:
Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed. Edited by Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2025. xvi + 780 pp. ISBN 978-1-23456-789-0.
Write For Medical Readers
Start with the book’s scope and audience. Then move to what the book does well, what’s thin, and what’s new compared with close competitors. Point to chapters that shine, gaps in coverage, and any outdated statements. Keep claims verifiable and link them to page numbers when you quote or paraphrase.
Cite Inside The Review
When you quote or refer to a precise claim, cite the book. If you mention other sources—guidelines, trials, or classic monographs—cite those too. Use Chicago’s rules for the system you chose. The official quick guides show the exact punctuation and order for books, chapters, and online items.
Notes-Bibliography Example
Footnote after the sentence:
“The initial CT may miss small posterior fossa strokes.”1
Corresponding footnote:
- Thomas R. Lee, “Posterior Circulation,” in Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed., ed. Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee (Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2025), 117.
Author-Date Example
In-text after the quotation or paraphrase:
“The initial CT may miss small posterior fossa strokes” (Lee 2025, 117).
Reference list entry:
Lee, Thomas R. 2025. “Posterior Circulation.” In Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed., edited by Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee, 99–138. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Add The Full Citation Of Your Review
If you need to hand in a bibliography entry for the review you wrote—or you’re citing a review published by someone else—use the “review of” format. Libraries and the CMOS site give models. In NB, the note names the reviewer, the review title, and then “review of” plus the book details. In AD, the reference entry does the same, and the in-text cite uses the reviewer’s name and year.
NB Models
- Note: Maria Santos, “Training For Trauma Teams,” review of Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed., ed. Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee (Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer, 2025), Journal of Acute Care 12, no. 3 (2025): 455–457.
- Bibliography: Santos, Maria. “Training For Trauma Teams.” Review of Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed., edited by Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee. Journal of Acute Care 12, no. 3 (2025): 455–457.
AD Models
- In-text: (Santos 2025)
- Reference: Santos, Maria. 2025. “Training For Trauma Teams.” Review of Emergency Neurology, 2nd ed., edited by Aisha Karim and Thomas R. Lee. Journal of Acute Care 12 (3): 455–457.
Disclose Conflicts And Funding
Medical outlets expect a clear disclosure line after the review. State any ties to the publisher or authors, plus funding or material support. If you received a copy from the publisher, say so. Many journals use the standard form posted by the ICMJE conflict-of-interest form. Add a single sentence such as, “The reviewer reports no relevant financial relationships.”
Chicago Style For A Medical Book Review: Layout And Citations
Page Setup And Headings
Use a clean, readable layout unless your venue gives a template. A plain serif font at 12-point, 1-inch margins, double spacing, and left-aligned text work well. Put the review title at the top, then your header block for the book, then the body. For student work, many instructors adopt the basics shown by Purdue OWL for Chicago papers, which match standard academic typesetting.
Quotations, Numbers, Drugs, And Abbreviations
Short quotations stay inside the paragraph within double quotation marks. Longer passages—about five lines or more—become a block quotation without quotation marks. For numbers, Chicago allows words for zero through nine and numerals for 10 and up; scientific venues often prefer numerals throughout, so follow your outlet. Spell out drug names at first mention and keep abbreviations to those readers will recognise.
References Section
End with a “Bibliography” for NB or “References” for AD. List only works you cited. Order entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname. Use hanging indents and keep punctuation exactly as Chicago shows. The CMOS quick guides linked above give the exact patterns for books, edited chapters, and e-books.
Quoting Safely And Fairly
Quote sparingly. Select lines that demonstrate method, claims, or scope. Attach page numbers. Paraphrase the rest so the review stays your voice. When you mention trials, guidelines, or other books, cite them just as you would in any research paper using the system you chose.
When Chapters Have Different Authors
Many medical texts are edited volumes. When you discuss a specific chapter, cite that chapter’s author, not just the book editor. Your note or reference should include the chapter author, chapter title, the word “In,” the book title in italics, the editor names, page range, place, publisher, and year.
Digital Books And DOIs
If you reviewed an e-book from a platform, include the DOI or stable URL when available. If a DOI exists, use it. Chicago accepts both doi: and https forms; journals tend to prefer the https format. If no DOI exists, add a durable URL or the database name if that’s the only locator the outlet allows.
Templates You Can Reuse
Use these quick patterns to save keystrokes. Swap in your details and keep the punctuation.
| Situation | NB Template | AD Template |
|---|---|---|
| Citing the book | Note: First Last, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page. • Bibliography: Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, Year. | In-text: (Last Year, page). • Reference: Last, First. Year. Title. Place: Publisher. |
| Chapter in edited book | Note: First Last, “Chapter,” in Title, ed. First Last (Place: Publisher, Year), pages. • Bibliography: Last, First. “Chapter.” In Title, edited by First Last, pages. Place: Publisher, Year. | In-text: (Last Year, page). • Reference: Last, First. Year. “Chapter.” In Title, edited by First Last, pages. Place: Publisher. |
| Translated work | Note: First Last, Title, trans. First Last (Place: Publisher, Year), page. • Bibliography: Last, First. Title. Translated by First Last. Place: Publisher, Year. | In-text: (Last Year, page). • Reference: Last, First. Year. Title. Translated by First Last. Place: Publisher. |
| E-book with DOI | Note: First Last, Title (Place: Publisher, Year), page, https://doi.org/xxxxx. • Bibliography: Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, Year. https://doi.org/xxxxx. | In-text: (Last Year, page). • Reference: Last, First. Year. Title. Place: Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx. |
A Polished Example You Can Model
Below is a short, clean sample that shows the typical flow and level of detail. You can adapt the tone for your outlet—plain for clinical trade, more analytical for academic journals.
Sample Heading Block
Infectious Diseases: Rapid Review, 3rd ed. By Rosa M. Vazquez. St. Louis: Elsevier, 2024. xii + 320 pp. ISBN 978-0-12-345678-9.
Sample Review Paragraphs
Rosa Vazquez promises a fast refresher for trainees tackling common infections. The book delivers a tidy set of chapters arranged by syndrome, with concise pearls at the close of each section. The layout is friendly for quick reading before rounds, and the tables pack dosing and contraindications without fluff.
Coverage is strong on respiratory infections and antimicrobial stewardship. The chapter on invasive fungal disease gives clear pathways for when to start therapy and when to call for imaging. A few sections lag behind current guidance. For instance, the bacteremia chapter still leans on older durations for some gram-negative sources. The index could be sharper; procedures and scores hide under inconsistent labels.
Where the book shines is clarity. Charts separate adult and pediatric dosing cleanly. Drug names are written in full at first mention and the text avoids alphabet soup. When a claim rests on trial data, Vazquez points readers to primary sources. That mix of brevity and citations makes the book helpful for interns and busy hospitalists alike.
Two features would raise the value further: a slim chapter on antimicrobial shortages and a table comparing new oral options for resistant gram-negatives. Adding QR codes that link to online updates could also keep dosing tables current between printings.
How To Place Notes Or In-Text Cites In That Example
NB version: add superscript numbers where you quote or paraphrase, then supply footnotes. Your bibliography would list Vazquez’s book and any outside sources you mentioned.
AD version: place short parenthetical cites in the sentences that need them, then finish with a reference list.
Disclosure Line
The reviewer received one print copy from the publisher. No other relationships to declare.
Common Mistakes And Quick Fixes
- Missing page numbers: add them for every quotation.
- Citing the editor when the chapter has an author: credit the chapter author.
- Mixing systems: don’t blend NB and AD; pick one.
- Loose punctuation: follow the commas and periods exactly as Chicago shows.
- Over-quoting: keep your voice; quote only the lines that carry weight.
- Skipping disclosure: state relationships in one clean sentence.
Quick Proof Pass That Saves Points
Before you send, read the review out loud. Your ear catches doubles, missing words, and clunky commas. Check italics against the title page, confirm every quoted line has a page number, and scan names for accents. Search your file for stray spaces before punctuation and for double hyphens where an em dash should sit. Turn on a spell-checker, but don’t accept every suggestion. Finally, print a PDF and skim for line breaks around block quotations, footnote markers, and hanging indents. Ten calm minutes can calmly spare a headache later and widow lines.
Checklist Before You Submit
- Title, then the bibliographic header, then the body.
- System chosen and applied consistently (NB or AD).
- In-text markers tied to notes or parenthetical cites with pages.
- Bibliography or reference list formatted with hanging indents.
- Names, titles, and italics matched to the book’s title page.
- Any e-book details, DOI, or URL recorded as needed.
- Disclosure line added and placed at the end.
- Links to style help: CMOS NB samples and CMOS AD samples.
That’s the whole build: pick the system, set the header, write a fair critique, and cite cleanly. Do that, add a clear disclosure, and your medical book review will read smoothly and meet Chicago expectations.