Figure 10. This figure demonstrates the hypothesized “lift-off” force that may occur along the edges of the sponge as the sponge decreases in width when negative pressure is applied to it.

The gray areas represent the cross-section of an extremity and the purple line represents the sponge. The dotted lines on the right image represent the position of the sponge before negative pressure. Note how as the sponge curls along the edges, the volume of the extremity increases, thereby decreasing the pressure of the extremity