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Frank-Starling mechanism
The physiological principle that increased venous return leads to increased cardiac output through enhanced ventricular stretch.
Full Definition
The Frank-Starling mechanism describes the intrinsic ability of the heart to adapt to changing venous return by altering stroke volume. When venous return increases, the ventricles fill more completely during diastole, stretching the cardiac muscle fibers. This stretch optimizes the overlap between actin and myosin filaments, resulting in stronger contraction and increased stroke volume. This mechanism allows the heart to automatically match output to input without neural or hormonal intervention, maintaining cardiac output proportional to venous return.
Usage
Usage note: Always hyphenate; capitalize both surnames.
In Context
- "The Frank-Starling mechanism explains why cardiac output increases during exercise despite fixed heart rate." — Physiology textbook
- "In heart failure, the Frank-Starling curve shifts downward and rightward, indicating impaired contractility." — Clinical assessment
Also known as
Starling's law of the heart
length-tension relationship
Don't confuse with
Laplace's law
Poiseuille's law