I always think of it as a peristaltic pump: big tube, squeeze one side, squeeze the other to circulate blood.
This paper might be of interest: "A review of selected pumping systems in nature and engineering--potential biomimetic concepts for improving displacement pumps and pulsation damping" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26335744
This paper might be of interest: "A review of selected pumping systems in nature and engineering--potential biomimetic concepts for improving displacement pumps and pulsation damping" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26335744