Indexing a medical book
A medical book’s index leads readers to useful discussion through the names, concepts and terms they are likely to look up. Preparing it involves selecting entries, connecting related terms and assigning the final page numbers.
Responsibility and scope
When a book needs an index, the publisher often arranges for a specialist indexer to prepare it, although the author or editor may be asked to supply one. Indexing can be daunting and time-consuming for someone without experience.
An index should guide readers rapidly to specific topics, with enough detail to be comprehensive without becoming unusable. Entries should reflect the words and phrases the readership is likely to seek. Entries should cover concepts and proper names, generally using chapter headings and subheadings as their basis. Pages with useful information should be indexed, while passing references should be omitted. A general guide is to aim for no more than three to five entries per page.
Subentries and cross-references
An index should include subentries; for drugs used in heart disease, it should cover both drug classes and individual drug names, as in this example.
- Antihypertensives, 20
- Atenolol, 24
- Beta-blockers, atenolol, 24
- Propranolol, 25
- Beta-blockers, propranolol, 25
- Antihypertensives, drug interactions, 30
An index should include cross-references to help readers navigate the index and text, including from synonyms or common abbreviations to the terms used in the book. For example, “Epinephrine see adrenaline” can lead to “Adrenaline, discovery and synthesis, 108” and “Adrenaline, sites of action, 110”. A related-topic reference can extend a search, as in “Malaria, 114 see also Antimalarials”. Other redirects include “Renal failure see Kidney failure” and “EGF see Epidermal growth factor”.
Assembly and sorting
Indexing can begin from word-processing files, but the final page numbers must eventually be incorporated, so working from numbered page proofs is often easiest. The indexer should read through the proofs and highlight material to index in headings, body text and tables, including specific names, phrases and concepts that readers are likely to look up. The selected entries should be entered in a word-processing file and sorted, generally letter by letter, ignoring spaces and hyphens. Duplicate entries should then be combined and subentries rationalised: separate “Atenolol, 23” and “Atenolol, 106” entries become “Atenolol, 23, 106”.