Venous return of blood is aided by the so-called skeletal muscle pump.
When the skeletal muscle surrounding a vein is relaxed both the upper and lower valves are closed to prevent backflow of the blood within the vein.
As the muscle on either side of the vein contracts it squeezes the vein putting pressure on the blood inside. The blood is pushed both downwards and upwards. Because of the lower valve no blood can be pushed downwards. However the upper valve can open and allows blood to go up into the next section of the vein.
It is because of this important role of muscle in aiding blood flow that we must encourage patients to mobilise themselves as much as possible.
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This page last updated on Saturday, 19 June 1999 14:44 +0100