WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF VENOUS VALVES IN THE MECHANISM OF BLOOD RETURN?
Venous valves act as a way of anti-return device, allowing the blood to flow back to the heart in one direction only. Blood is pushed upwards by the vascular effect exerted by the plantar pad and muscle mass. Let´s imagine an elastic pipe filled with liquid. If we stepped on it, the liquid would explode and come out through the two extremes of the pipe, but if we put a tap at one of the extremes and we stepped on it again, the liquid would only come out through the extreme with no tap. And if instead of taps we used two valves only enabling the passage of liquid from left to right in both extremes, stepping on the pipe would force the liquid to come out through the right. This is exactly how venous valves in the veins work: the blood contained inside the vein is pushed upwards in one single direction by the compression movements exerted by the plantar pads and leg muscles. The process is dependent on this valvular function, which controls the venous return to the heart.
