Research Article

Journal Title Abbreviations: ISO 4, MEDLINE, CASSI, and How To Get Them Right (2026)

How journal title abbreviations work, when to use ISO 4 vs MEDLINE vs CASSI, and how to find the correct abbreviation for your manuscript or BibTeX file.

The correct journal abbreviation depends on the standard your target workflow expects. ISO 4 is the international abbreviation standard, MEDLINE is common in biomedical indexing, and CASSI matters in chemistry. If you need the exact abbreviation fast, use the [journal abbreviation lookup](/tools/journal-abbreviation-lookup).

If you searched journal title abbreviation generator, you are usually stuck in one of three situations: a journal submission system expects abbreviated journal names a BibTeX style wants a specific abbreviation format you found an abbreviation in a reference list and need the full title

This topic is annoying because "the abbreviation" is not always singular. Different systems use different standards.

ISO 4 is the broad international standard for serial title abbreviations. It is the default reference point for many journal-title abbreviation workflows.

Typical pattern: Journal -> J. International -> Int. Chemical -> Chem.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I abbreviate a journal title correctly?
Use the standard that your workflow requires. ISO 4 is the general international standard, MEDLINE/NLM is common in biomedical contexts, and CASSI is important in chemistry. Do not guess from memory if the target journal or BibTeX style expects a specific form.
What is ISO 4?
ISO 4 is the international standard for abbreviating serial publication titles. It uses the LTWA word list to determine how words such as Journal, International, and Chemical should be shortened.
Where can I generate a journal title abbreviation?
Use the [journal abbreviation lookup](/tools/journal-abbreviation-lookup) to search by full title or abbreviation and see ISO 4, MEDLINE, and CASSI variants when available.

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