MICROANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -skeletal muscle pump: The mechanism whereby skeletal muscles aid the return of blood to the heart by compressing embedded veins.

Detailed explanation-2: -During upright posture, skeletal muscles help maintain venous return and consequently cardiac output by compressing underlying veins in order to increase blood flow back to the heart (skeletal muscle pump).

Detailed explanation-3: -Venous return is facilitated by a number of factors, including inspiration, increased total blood volume, increased venomotor tone, the cardiac suction effect, the presence of venous valves and the skeletal muscle pump.

Detailed explanation-4: -The skeletal muscle pump has been shown to be very effective at emptying the venous vessels, as more than 40% of the intramuscular blood volume can be translocated centrally with a single muscular contraction (Stewart et al.

Detailed explanation-5: -The muscle pump theory holds that muscle contraction aids muscle perfusion by emptying the venous circulation, which lowers venous pressure during relaxation, increasing the pressure gradient across the muscle, thus facilitating an increased arterial inflow (4, 8, 19).