AMA Image Citation for Figures, Tables, and Source Credits

Connect a figure caption or table source note to its original source, with worked examples for a published figure, a standalone image, and a newly drawn chart.

An AMA image citation links the visual in your paper to a numbered reference for its source. Place the citation with the caption or source note, then supply the full reference at the end. We checked UNE's image guidance against ICMJE recommendations and the original records below. To work out how to cite a figure in AMA, first identify where it came from and what you changed.

Find the original source behind the visual

Open the page that contains the image. A search-results thumbnail or lecture slide can hide the original article, image-library record, or book. Follow the credit back until you can verify who made the visual and where it was published. Save that record with your source notes.

For a journal figure, record the article's bibliographic details and the original figure number. Figure 1 in the PRISMA 2020 paper is a flow-diagram template. The article DOI identifies the paper; the figure has its own DOI. Your paper might label the reused diagram Figure 4. Keep the original figure number in the credit so readers can find it.

A book illustration needs the relevant edition and page. Oxford's public citing guide demonstrates this with a named table inside the AMA manual. A standalone online image needs its own item record, creator, available date, and direct link. These details determine which reference format to use.

Connect captions and source notes to references

Your figure number and reference number do different jobs. Figure 2 tells readers which visual to examine. A superscript 7 points to reference 7 in the bibliography. Give the visual a short descriptive title, name its source in the legend, and attach the source's reference number.

Reuse the source's existing reference number if you already cited it in the text. For sources mentioned only in a table or figure legend, ICMJE places them in the reference sequence at the point where that table or figure is first identified in the text. Apply AMA's superscript presentation and check the journal's instructions for table-note symbols.

The caption and reference below form a worked example. Reference numbers 1, 2, and 3 belong to these examples; replace each with the source's number in your manuscript. The captions demonstrate attribution without reproducing the visuals.

Caption for an unchanged journal figure

Figure 1. PRISMA 2020 flow-diagram template. Reproduced from Page et al, Figure 1.¹ https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583.g001. © 2021 Page et al. Licensed under CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. No changes made.

PLOS supplies the authors, copyright notice, and license. Retain the original figure link and license link in an electronic credit.

Example reference 1

1. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. PLoS Med. 2021;18(3):e1003583. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003583

Distinguish original, adapted, and reproduced visuals

Use reproduced for an unchanged borrowed visual. Use adapted when you alter its content or arrangement, and explain the changes. A cropped image or a relabeled diagram still needs its source credit and a check of the applicable reuse terms.

A visual made entirely from your own research normally needs no external source citation. A chart drawn from another author's numbers still needs a reference to that evidence. If you designed the chart, say that you created it from published data and name the source.

For a standalone image, check the item record. CDC's PHIL entry 23312 credits Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins, gives 2020 as the creation year, and marks the illustration as public domain. We supplied the descriptive title in brackets below because the entry has a caption rather than a short title. Leave unknown dates unknown.

Caption for a standalone image

Figure 2. SARS-CoV-2 illustration. Credit to CDC/Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins, PHIL ID 23312.² Public domain. Available free from CDC. Use does not imply CDC or US government endorsement.

Example reference 2

2. Eckert A, Higgins D. [Illustration of SARS-CoV-2]. Public Health Image Library. 2020. Accessed October 6, 2026. https://wwwn.cdc.gov/phil/Details.aspx?pid=23312

Source note for a new chart or table

Figure 3. Age distribution of reported US measles cases, January 1 to October 1, 2019. Chart created from published percentages in Patel et al.³ Data developed by CDC and available free on its website. Use does not imply CDC or US government endorsement.

A new chart could use the report's rounded percentages of 13%, 31%, 27%, and 29% for ages under 1 year, 1 to 4 years, 5 to 17 years, and 18 years or older. Keep the reporting period and categories. For a table, place the equivalent source note below it.

Example reference 3

3. Patel M, Lee AD, Clemmons NS, et al. National update on measles cases and outbreaks, United States, January 1 to October 1, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(40):893-896. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6840e2

Check attribution and reuse requirements

An AMA figure citation tells readers where the visual came from. The license or permission sets the reuse conditions. Read the individual item's rights statement before copying it. Even a freely readable article can contain a separately credited figure with different restrictions.

For the PRISMA example, the article links to CC BY 4.0. That license permits sharing and adaptation with appropriate credit, a license link, and disclosure of changes. For the CDC example, the item-specific public-domain notice and agency policy require credit and additional reuse conditions. CDC also warns that some material on its website has third-party restrictions.

Check the destination's rules too. JAMA generally declines previously published material from other publishers except in rare circumstances. A usable license therefore cannot guarantee that a journal will accept a borrowed figure. Save the license or written permission with your submission files, and follow any required credit wording.