The first letter of a main heading is capitalized, except in certain French and foreign names, the names of chemical compounds with an italicized prefix, and standard symbols with a lower-case first letter:
- van Willebrand disease
- p-Aminobenzoic acid
- pH
In scientific texts it is important to distinguish between common and proper nouns. The first letter of a generic or family name in biology is capitalized, but that of a specific epithet or common name is not:
- spirochetes
- Sporotrichinaceae
- Sporotrichum schenkii
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