Format your manuscript to the Physiological Reviews requirements — abstract, numbered references, and required declarations — and submit through the APS submission system without a formatting rejection.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
A strong study can still bounce at Physiological Reviews before review if the manuscript ignores the journal’s formatting requirements. This template is built around Physiological Reviews’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, numbered references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the Physiological Reviews author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
It’s a manuscript shell set up to Physiological Reviews’s specifications for authoritative reviews across physiology. Physiological Reviews is published by the American Physiological Society. The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in a review structure (Introduction, themed thematic sections, and a Conclusions/Outlook) order, and a reference list in numbered style.
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is an abstract within the journal's stated word limit. The body follows a review structure (Introduction, themed thematic sections, and a Conclusions/Outlook), and the reference list uses numbered. Close with the declarations block: ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability.
The details that trip up most first submissions: an abstract outside the stated word limit, references not in the journal's required format, and missing declarations (ethics, competing interests, funding). Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep numbered formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through the APS submission system — email submissions aren’t processed.
The shell mirrors what Physiological Reviews’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, numbered reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the Physiological Reviews journal home page. Physiological Reviews offers an open-access option; check the current article-processing charge and any waiver before you commit. Manuscripts go in through the APS submission system, which also tracks your paper through peer review.
| Element | Physiological Reviews requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | an abstract within the journal's stated word limit |
| Main text | a review structure (Introduction, themed thematic sections, and a Conclusions/Outlook) |
| Declarations | Ethics approval, conflict of interest, funding, and data availability |
| Figures / tables | Captioned, cited in order; check format and resolution rules in the guide |
| Supplemental | Large datasets, extra tables, code — uploaded separately and cited in text |
| Submission | the APS submission system |
Read the Physiological Reviews author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set numbered as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Skim two or three recent Physiological Reviews papers to calibrate depth, structure, and figure style. State your contribution in the first two paragraphs, not on page ten. Write a data-availability statement that names a real repository rather than a placeholder, and disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in your cover letter. Confirm current open-access pricing and any institutional agreement before committing to a fee.
Do one focused pass against the Physiological Reviews author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, numbered references, required declarations, and figure quality. Re-check the items that most often cause a bounce here — an abstract outside the stated word limit, references not in the journal's required format, and missing declarations (ethics, competing interests, funding). Then submit through the APS submission system.