diff --git a/wgpu-core/src/device/life.rs b/wgpu-core/src/device/life.rs
index b3d91855bb0..f534d25ff3e 100644
--- a/wgpu-core/src/device/life.rs
+++ b/wgpu-core/src/device/life.rs
@@ -384,6 +384,11 @@ impl LifetimeTracker {
         for buffer in self.ready_to_map.drain(..) {
             match buffer.map(snatch_guard) {
                 Some(cb) => pending_callbacks.push(cb),
+                // `None` means the mapping was cancelled between when this
+                // buffer was added to `ready_to_map` and now — typically
+                // because `unmap` was called on it. `unmap_inner` already fired
+                // the callback with `MapAborted` in that case, so there is
+                // nothing left to do here.
                 None => continue,
             }
         }
diff --git a/wgpu-core/src/device/queue.rs b/wgpu-core/src/device/queue.rs
index 602a1b107a0..5c31445e21c 100644
--- a/wgpu-core/src/device/queue.rs
+++ b/wgpu-core/src/device/queue.rs
@@ -281,6 +281,12 @@ impl Drop for Queue {
             self.maintain(last_successful_submission_index, &snatch_guard);
         drop(snatch_guard);
 
+        // `wait_for_idle` above ensures all in-flight submissions have
+        // completed, so `maintain` should have drained every active
+        // submission. A false result here indicates that something went
+        // wrong — most likely the device was lost and `wait_for_idle`
+        // did not surface that as an error, leaving submissions
+        // unprocessed and their `mapped` buffer callbacks unfired.
         assert!(queue_empty);
 
         let closures = crate::device::UserClosures {
diff --git a/wgpu-core/src/resource.rs b/wgpu-core/src/resource.rs
index aa672dc2661..84f5242b5ae 100644
--- a/wgpu-core/src/resource.rs
+++ b/wgpu-core/src/resource.rs
@@ -438,7 +438,16 @@ pub type BufferAccessResult = Result<(), BufferAccessError>;
 pub(crate) struct BufferPendingMapping {
     pub(crate) range: Range<wgt::BufferAddress>,
     pub(crate) op: BufferMapOperation,
-    // hold the parent alive while the mapping is active
+
+    /// A strong reference to the parent buffer, to hold it alive
+    /// while the mapping is pending.
+    ///
+    /// This creates a temporary reference cycle: [`Buffer::map_state`] owns
+    /// this `BufferPendingMapping`, which in turn holds an `Arc<Buffer>` back
+    /// to the same buffer. The cycle is intentional — it keeps the buffer alive
+    /// while it sits in `LifetimeTracker::ready_to_map` with no other owner —
+    /// and is broken by `Buffer::map` when it moves the `BufferPendingMapping`
+    /// out of [`Buffer::map_state`].
     pub(crate) _parent_buffer: Arc<Buffer>,
 }
 
@@ -716,6 +725,12 @@ impl Buffer {
             }
 
             if let Some(queue) = device.get_queue().as_ref() {
+                // Flush pending writes to this buffer before scheduling the map.
+                //
+                // Such writes get added to `queue.life_tracker.lock().active`, so
+                // that `lock_life().map` below will find the buffer in that
+                // submission and wait for it, rather than placing it in
+                // `ready_to_map` prematurely.
                 match queue.flush_writes_for_buffer(self, snatch_guard) {
                     Err(err) => {
                         let state = mem::replace(&mut *self.map_state.lock(), BufferMapState::Idle);
@@ -725,7 +740,7 @@ impl Buffer {
                         return Err((op, err));
                     }
                     Ok(()) => {
-                        // Schedule the buffer map in the  lifetime tracker.
+                        // Schedule the buffer map in the lifetime tracker.
                         //
                         // This call searches for use of the buffer by pending submissions.
                         // If we just flushed pending writes, that search is redundant; we