You are assisting a physician who is preparing to suture a superficial laceration on a patient's leg. The physician asks you to draw up lidocaine with epinephrine. You understand that epinephrine is used with the lidocaine to:

Improve perfusion by increasing blood flow to the area

Prolong anesthetic effects and reduce the risk of systemic toxicity from lidocaine.

Increase the rate of absorption of the lidocaine

Allow more systemic absorption to speed up metabolism of the lidocaine