The circuit analysis of an electric analog of the systemic circulation, the focus of a classic paper by Guyton, Lindsey, and Kaufmann, provides a framework for understanding the factors that impact venous return and for appreciating the value of modeling physiological systems. The classic 1955 paper by Guyton, Lindsey, and Kaufmann gives your students an opportunity to learn about modeling from the physiologist who pioneered it (Guyton) and demonstrates that mathematics and data graphics are fundamental tools with which to learn about the regulation of the cardiovascular system. In this essay, I outline avenues of discovery by which your students can explore the factors that impact venous return.