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Models of the Heart

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The Heart and Circulation

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Abstract

The complex nature of interaction between the heart and the circulation was well recognized among the early nineteenth-century physiologists, and despite numerous technical challenges associated with “opening of the circuit,” attempts were made to investigate the mechanical behavior of the heart itself. The ideas that led to the development and application of this radical experiment played a key role in the understanding of the mechanical and energetic function of the heart which remains incomplete. Further discussed are: recirculating and non-recirculating isolated heart preparations; Otto Frank’s and Ernest Starling’s isolated heart preparations and original formulation of the “law of the heart”; similarity between the isolated heart preparation and the hydraulic ram as a unique model of heart’s mechanical action; quantification of ventricular pump function by the “three element Windkessel”; the “physiological enigma” of the high myocardial basal metabolic rate and its low mechanical efficiency; length-dependent activation of the cardiac muscle and the reformulation of the “law of the heart” in terms of myocardial energetics; and the conceptual drawbacks of the total artificial hearts and relative success of the ventricular assist and continuous flow devices.

The test of a scientific theory is not how good or reasonable it sounds, but how well it fits the facts and, in particular, how fruitful it is in generating further penetration into the mysteries of nature.

Keith Francis (2012)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The principle of operation of the hydraulic ram can be expressed with Bernoulli’s energy law which states that if pressure losses due to turbulence and friction are neglected, the sum of hydrostatic pressure, potential energy, and kinetic energy remain constant. See also Sect. 24.2.

  2. 2.

    The original Windkessel model introduced by Otto Frank in 1899 consisted only of a resistance and a compliance element.

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  1. Professor of Anesthesiology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA

    Branko Furst MD, FFARCSI

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  1. Branko Furst MD, FFARCSI
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Furst, B. (2020). Models of the Heart. In: The Heart and Circulation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25062-1_16

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