diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index c22adcc..bd290ee 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ if(CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR STREQUAL CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR AND BUILD_TESTING)
   add_test(NAME conflict_set_cxx_api_test COMMAND conflict_set_cxx_api_test)
 
   # SHOW_MEMORY instrumentation, which the rest of the test suite doesn't
-  # compile with
+  # compile with. It assumes a single live ConflictSet (see Internal.h).
   add_executable(conflict_set_show_memory_test ConflictSet.cpp
                                                ShowMemoryTest.cpp)
   target_compile_options(conflict_set_show_memory_test PRIVATE ${TEST_FLAGS})
diff --git a/ConflictSet.cpp b/ConflictSet.cpp
index 3273dc2..a1b6dc9 100644
--- a/ConflictSet.cpp
+++ b/ConflictSet.cpp
@@ -5546,7 +5546,9 @@ void internal_addWrites(ConflictSet::Impl *impl,
   impl->totalBytes += mallocBytesDelta;
   impl->memory_bytes.set(impl->totalBytes);
 #if SHOW_MEMORY
-  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting.
+  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting. `mallocBytes` is process-wide,
+  // while `impl->totalBytes` only covers this instance, so this holds only
+  // while this is the only live ConflictSet (see Internal.h).
   if (impl->totalBytes != mallocBytes) {
     abort(); // GCOVR_EXCL_LINE
   }
@@ -5559,7 +5561,9 @@ void internal_setOldestVersion(ConflictSet::Impl *impl, int64_t oldestVersion) {
   impl->totalBytes += mallocBytesDelta;
   impl->memory_bytes.set(impl->totalBytes);
 #if SHOW_MEMORY
-  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting.
+  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting. `mallocBytes` is process-wide,
+  // while `impl->totalBytes` only covers this instance, so this holds only
+  // while this is the only live ConflictSet (see Internal.h).
   if (impl->totalBytes != mallocBytes) {
     abort(); // GCOVR_EXCL_LINE
   }
diff --git a/Internal.h b/Internal.h
index f2b2ea8..54d9a56 100644
--- a/Internal.h
+++ b/Internal.h
@@ -96,6 +96,14 @@ static_assert(std::is_trivial_v<TrivialSpan>);
 // GCOVR_EXCL_START
 
 #if SHOW_MEMORY
+// Process-wide by design: `safe_malloc`/`safe_free` update these for every
+// allocation in the process, no matter which ConflictSet made it. An instance's
+// `totalBytes`, in contrast, only accounts for the allocations made during its
+// own API calls, so the SHOW_MEMORY cross-check of the two in
+// `internal_addWrites`/`internal_setOldestVersion` only holds while a single
+// ConflictSet is alive. Running several at once is supported by the library;
+// SHOW_MEMORY just doesn't instrument it. `peakMallocBytes` is process-wide
+// too, but as a peak it remains meaningful with several instances.
 inline int64_t mallocBytes = 0;
 inline int64_t peakMallocBytes = 0;
 // Defined in ConflictSet.cpp
diff --git a/ShowMemoryTest.cpp b/ShowMemoryTest.cpp
index 440cf7f..3e3c879 100644
--- a/ShowMemoryTest.cpp
+++ b/ShowMemoryTest.cpp
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 // Exercises the SHOW_MEMORY instrumentation, which the other tests don't
 // compile with (this target passes -DSHOW_MEMORY=1). The instrumentation has
 // its own consistency checks, which abort on failure, and asserts are enabled
-// by TEST_FLAGS. Only one ConflictSet may exist at a time, since the
-// accounting is process-wide.
+// by TEST_FLAGS. Only one ConflictSet may exist at a time: the accounting is
+// process-wide, while the cross-check compares it against a single instance's
+// totals (see the comment on `mallocBytes` in Internal.h).
 #include "ConflictSet.h"
 #include "Internal.h"
 
diff --git a/SkipList.cpp b/SkipList.cpp
index d64d550..4aba838 100644
--- a/SkipList.cpp
+++ b/SkipList.cpp
@@ -915,6 +915,9 @@ void internal_addWrites(ConflictSet::Impl *impl,
   impl->totalBytes += mallocBytesDelta;
   impl->memory_bytes.set(impl->totalBytes);
 #if SHOW_MEMORY
+  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting. `mallocBytes` is process-wide,
+  // while `impl->totalBytes` only covers this instance, so this holds only
+  // while this is the only live ConflictSet (see Internal.h).
   if (impl->totalBytes != mallocBytes) {
     abort();
   }
@@ -927,6 +930,9 @@ void internal_setOldestVersion(ConflictSet::Impl *impl, int64_t oldestVersion) {
   impl->totalBytes += mallocBytesDelta;
   impl->memory_bytes.set(impl->totalBytes);
 #if SHOW_MEMORY
+  // Testing-only cross-check of the accounting. `mallocBytes` is process-wide,
+  // while `impl->totalBytes` only covers this instance, so this holds only
+  // while this is the only live ConflictSet (see Internal.h).
   if (impl->totalBytes != mallocBytes) {
     abort();
   }