PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/NIH or MedlinePlus page

How to Cite an NIH or MedlinePlus Page in MLA 9

For a page on an NIH institute's own website, like NIMH, start with the page title in quotation marks, because the institute wrote the page and also runs the site. Then give the institute's name in italics as the website, the page's date, and the URL without https://. A MedlinePlus health topic page also starts with its title, followed by MedlinePlus in italics as the website. A MedlinePlus drug page starts with its author, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The in-text citation is the first thing in the entry, usually the title: ("Depression").

The format

"Title of the Page." Name of the Website, Day Mon. Year, www.url.gov/....

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 30, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the page's URL into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA recognizes NIH institute websites and MedlinePlus and fills in the title, the date, the URL, and the group author. The lookup sets up a few things the APA way, so check them for MLA before you save.

On an institute page, like one from NIMH, change Website Name to the institute's own name: National Institute of Mental Health. Once the group author and the website match, PERRLA starts the MLA entry with the title. On a MedlinePlus health topic page, take the National Library of Medicine out of the authors, so the entry starts with the title. On a MedlinePlus drug page, keep the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists as the author.

Adding one by hand? Choose Webpage, then fill in the Page Title, the Website Name, the Publication Date, and the URL (Web address). For an institute page, add a Group Author (Organization) with the same name you typed in Website Name. Citing numbers from a statistics page? Fill in Retrieval Date, and PERRLA writes it as the access date. PERRLA handles the title case, the date format, and the URL.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Start with the title (institute pages)

MLA has a rule for organizations: when the group that wrote a work also publishes it, skip the author and begin with the title. NIMH writes its pages and runs nimh.nih.gov, so an NIMH page starts with its title. The institute's name still appears once, as the website.

The title goes in quotation marks and title case, with a period inside the closing quotation mark.

"Depression."

The web address tells you whose site you're on: nimh, niddk, nia, nhlbi, and so on, each followed by nih.gov. A few institutes live elsewhere, like the National Cancer Institute at cancer.gov and the National Human Genome Research Institute at genome.gov.

2. Author (MedlinePlus drug pages)

MedlinePlus drug pages come from AHFS Patient Medication Information, written by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and credited at the bottom of each page. ASHP wrote the page but doesn't publish MedlinePlus, so it's the author and leads the entry, spelled out.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

MedlinePlus health topic pages credit no separate author. The National Library of Medicine wrote and publishes them, so they start with the title.

3. Website name

The website is the container, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. For an institute page, that's the institute's full name, not NIH and not the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For MedlinePlus, it's simply MedlinePlus.

National Institute of Mental Health,

MedlinePlus,

NIMH runs a site named after itself, so its name appears once, as the website. MLA doesn't repeat it as a publisher.

4. Date

Use the date that shows when the page last changed: a Last Updated or Last Revised date. If a Last Reviewed date is the only one on the page, MLA lets you use it. (APA is different: it ignores review dates.) Give the date as fully as the page does, day before month, with the month abbreviated except May, June, and July.

Dec. 2024,

MedlinePlus health topic pages show the full date at the bottom ("Last updated December 18, 2024"), so they get the day too: 18 Dec. 2024.

5. URL and access date

End with the URL of the exact page, without https://, followed by a period. Link to the page you read, not the institute's home page.

www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression.

An access date is optional in MLA. Add one for a statistics page, because its numbers are replaced when new data come out. Write Accessed and the date at the very end.

Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Examples

An NIMH health topic page with only a review date

The National Institute of Mental Health's main depression page. NIMH wrote it and runs the site, so the entry starts with the title. Its only date is "Last Reviewed: December 2024," which MLA uses.

  • In-text citation("Depression")
  • Narrative citationThe National Institute of Mental Health's page "Depression" explains that ….

An NIMH statistics page, with an access date

NIMH's statistics on major depression, a common source for prevalence numbers in nursing and psychology papers. It says "Last Updated: July 2023." The numbers change when new survey data come out, so this entry adds the date you viewed the page.

  • In-text citation("Major Depression")
  • Narrative citationThe National Institute of Mental Health's "Major Depression" page reports that ….

A MedlinePlus health topic page

MedlinePlus's page on pressure sores, which says "Last updated December 18, 2024." The National Library of Medicine wrote it and runs MedlinePlus, and the page credits no separate author, so the entry starts with the title, with MedlinePlus as the website.

  • In-text citation("Pressure Sores")
  • Narrative citationThe MedlinePlus page "Pressure Sores" notes that ….

A MedlinePlus drug information page

MedlinePlus's page on metformin. The drug information is written by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which the page credits at the bottom, so ASHP is the author. The page says "Last Revised - 10/15/2026," so the date is 15 Oct. 2026.

  • In-text citation(American Society)
  • Narrative citationAs the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists explains, ….

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation uses the first thing in the Works Cited entry. NIH and MedlinePlus pages have no page numbers, so there's no number to add.

  • An institute or MedlinePlus page that starts with its title: the title in quotation marks: ("Depression"). Shorten a long title to its first noun and the words before it: "Major Depression" stays whole.
  • A MedlinePlus drug page: the author. In parentheses, a long organization name can be shortened to its first noun phrase: (American Society). Give the full name in your sentence.
  • In your sentence: name the institute and the page title, and no parentheses are needed: The National Institute of Mental Health's page "Depression" explains that …

You can write NIMH or NLM in your own sentences once you've spelled the name out, but the Works Cited entry always uses the full name.

Common mistakes

  • National Institute of Mental Health. "Depression." National Institute of Mental Health,"Depression." National Institute of Mental Health,When the institute wrote the page and runs the site, MLA starts with the title so the institute isn't listed twice.
  • "Depression." National Institutes of Health,"Depression." National Institute of Mental Health,The website is the institute's own site. NIH is its parent agency, not the site you read.
  • National Library of Medicine. "Metformin." MedlinePlus,American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. "Metformin." MedlinePlus,MedlinePlus drug pages are written by ASHP, which each page credits at the bottom. ASHP is the author, not the National Library of Medicine.
  • National Institute of Mental Health. (2023, July). Major depression."Major Depression." National Institute of Mental Health, July 2023,That's APA. MLA starts with the title in quotation marks and title case, italicizes the website, and puts the date after it.
  • MedlinePlus [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); … Pressure Sores; [updated 2024 Dec 18; cited 2026 Oct 27]."Pressure Sores." MedlinePlus, 18 Dec. 2024, medlineplus.gov/pressuresores.html.MedlinePlus's own "how to cite" format follows the National Library of Medicine's style guide, not MLA. Don't paste it into an MLA paper.
  • (NIMH)("Depression")Your reader finds the entry by its first word, and this entry starts with the title. NIMH appears only as the website.

Quick checklist

  • Institute and MedlinePlus pages start with the title, in quotation marks and title case
  • MedlinePlus drug pages start with American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
  • The institute's full name, or MedlinePlus, in italics as the website
  • The Last Updated date, or the Last Reviewed date when it's the only one
  • URL of the exact page, without https://, ending with a period
  • An access date for statistics pages

Questions students ask

Is the author NIH or the institute, like NIMH?

Neither leads the entry for a regular NIMH page. NIMH wrote the page and runs the site, so MLA starts with the title and names the institute once, in italics, as the website. NIH is the parent agency, not the author or the website.

Can I use a Last Reviewed date in MLA?

Yes. MLA asks for the date that matters most for your use, and a Last Reviewed date is fine when it's the only date on the page. If the page shows both, use the Last Updated date. APA is the style that ignores review dates.

Who is the author of a MedlinePlus page?

Health topic pages have no separate author: the National Library of Medicine wrote them and runs MedlinePlus, so the entry starts with the title. Drug information pages are written by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, so ASHP leads those entries.

Should I use the citation MedlinePlus gives me?

Not in an MLA paper. MedlinePlus's "how to cite" format follows the National Library of Medicine's own style guide, with "[Internet]" and "cited" dates. Build the MLA entry the way the examples on this page show.

Do NIH and MedlinePlus pages need an access date in MLA?

It's optional. Add one when the page has no date, or when it shows numbers that change, like an NIMH statistics page. Write Accessed and the date at the end of the entry.

How do I cite an article I found on PubMed?

Cite it as a journal article, with its own authors, journal, and DOI. NIH runs PubMed and PubMed Central, but it didn't write the articles in them. The journal article guide shows the format.

How do I cite an NIH PDF or brochure?

A standalone document, like an NIMH brochure with a publication number, is a report, not a webpage. Its title goes in italics, and the number and publisher follow the title. The government report guide shows how.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (an organization that is both author and publisher, titles of works on websites, the website as container, when to leave out the publisher, dates, URLs, and optional access dates) and chapter 6 (in-text citations and shortened titles), and the MLA Style Center pages "How do I cite a source that has no author?," "When citing a work on a website, should I use the original publication date or the last-updated date?," the access-date answer, and the answer on shortened titles. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page, re-opened on October 27, 2026, to confirm each title, date, and the ASHP credit.

PERRLA builds the MLA entry for an NIH or MedlinePlus page from its URL, with the title, the website, and the date in MLA order.

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