Heart, lungs & the art of summarising

I enjoyed the module cardiovascular and respiratory function in health and disease (MEDC0002). I had a foundation in physiology from secondary school and I was eager to expand my knowledge, also on the main pathologies affecting the heart and lungs.

For the assessment, we were asked to create an annotated bibliography on a topic related to the effects of electronic cigarettes on the cardiovascular and respiratory system. This task required the application of a variety of skills: concise writing, succinct analysis, and informed library research. Indeed, working on this piece of coursework allowed me to improve in identifying the key points of a study (objectives, main methods, significant results) and in scientific writing.

I spent a significant amount of time selecting the articles to annotate, searching databases such as PubMed for relevant publications and choosing those which related to the module content taught. I had the opportunity to engage with the scientific literature and to appreciate the fact that there are multiple types of studies and different experimental designs.

Below is one of my annotations – the complete annotated bibliography is here.