User:ArminiusPanda/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Vasodilation

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
Understanding vasodilation is key to understanding a myriad of health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, and even allergies and most immune processes. A complete understanding of what vasodilation is and what causes or prevents it can benefit people with these conditions in their efforts to remain healthy. My primary interest is anything medical, so editing this article would give me an opportunity to learn something myself and help educate others. Upon reading this article I was initially struck by how few citations it has given how information dense it is. It also lacks structure and would be easier to read and understand if information was more clearly subdivided

Evaluate the article
1- The lead section contains some information not further explained later in the article. Systemic vasodilation versus localized vasodilation is mentioned but no explanation for why this occurs is provided. It lacks citations for most of its information, having only one fact cited in the whole section. Cardiac output needs a brief explanation, mention of immune system factors causing/necessitating vasodilation is also needed (to be fully explained in a later section).

2- FUNCTION- The section on FUNCTION needs a subsection on the relationship between the immune system and vasodilation. Vasodilation is a key component of the innate immune response and is not explained in the article. This new subsection will need citations as well. The subsection Vasodilation and arterial resistance needs an explanation of the relationship between vasodilation/vasoconstriction and blood pressure. A diagram of blood flow through the heart with pulmonary and systemic circulation routes attached would benefit this explanation. Foundational information is not provided, making the concepts hard to understand if the reader does not already know what vasodilation is. This section overall lacks citations, most information is just not cited.

3- EXAMPLES AND INDIVIDUAL MECHANISMS- Initial description of muscle contraction/relaxation is insufficient. Smooth muscle is not organized into sarcomeres, the way it relaxes/contracts is slightly different from other muscle tissue types. A short description of smooth muscle contraction explaining the roles of calcium ions and myosin would add to the readability of the article; these terms are mentioned but their roles are not well explained. The section lacks adequate citations.

Subsection Sympathetic nervous system vasodilation contains very old citations, one work cited was published in 2006. The author portrays the role of the sympathetic nervous system in vasodilation as trivial, a claim that should be re-evaluated now that over 15 years of new research have been published since.

Subsection Cold-induced vasodilation fails to explain any reaction to cold other than the typical Hunting reaction. Detailed explanation of the pathophysiology of cold-induced circulation disorders would be out of place, but naming a few and giving a 1 or 2 sentance explanation would add to this article.

Subsection Other possible causes of vasodilation needs to be fact-checked. There is a warning that this section needs fewer primary sources and more verified information. It contains no citations. I suspect many of these causes for vasodilation listed were the conclusion of a single or a handful of studies that were done more than a few years ago, given the pattern of using old citations observed in the article. The claims on the list need to be evaluated and removed if not enough information supports them, and citations need to be added to existing claims. Almost no citations are present here.

Subsection Therapeutic uses should be expanded, citations should be added. No mechanism is provided for how vasodilators help alleviate the conditions listed. Needs more citations as well.

Subsection Antihypertensives that work by opening blood vessels would be much easier to understand if the above section contained more information.

Throughout the article, citations need to be added and existing information needs to be evaluated and removed if not supported by reliable medical sources. The article in general lacks background for advanced concepts explained; it would not be very beneficial to someone who does not already understand what vasodilation is. A more linear explanation of what vasodilation is, why it is important, and what causes it needs to be provided in words that make sense to the average reader. This article contains a lot of good information, but the lack of background makes it a confusing read.