The trabeculae carneae (columnae carneae, or meaty ridges) are rounded or irregular muscular columns which project from the inner surface of the right and left ventricle of the

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

.Moore, K.L., & Agur, A.M. (2007). ''Essential Clinical Anatomy: Third Edition.'' Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 90-94. These are different from the

pectinate muscles The pectinate muscles (musculi pectinati) are parallel muscular ridges in the walls of the atria of the heart. Structure Behind the crest ( crista terminalis) of the right atrium the internal surface is smooth. Pectinate muscles make up the pa ...

, which are present in the atria of the heart. In development, trabeculae carneae are among the first of the cardiac structures to develop in the embryonic cardiac tube. Further, throughout development some trabeculae carneae condense to form the myocardium, papillary muscles, chordae tendineae, and septum.

Types

There are two kinds: * Some are attached along their entire length on one side and merely form prominent ridges, * Others are fixed at their extremities but free in the middle, as in the

moderator band The moderator band (also known as septomarginal trabecula) is a band of cardiac muscle found in the right ventricle of the heart. It is well-marked in sheep and some other animals. It extends from the base of the anterior papillary muscle to the v ...

in the right ventricle, or the papillary muscles that holds chordae tendinae, which are connected to cusps of valves to control flow of blood into the heart

Function

Trabeculae lie at the interface between intracardiac flow and the compact myocardium. Their fractal branching pattern helps to maintain cardiac performance in both healthy and failing hearts by increasing contractility and stroke work. Trabecular morphology is also important to intraventricular conduction, suggesting these complex structures are involved in cardiac electrophysiology as well as mechanical function. A condensation of trabecular fibres forms the moderator band which carries the right branch of the

bundle of His The bundle of His (BH) or His bundle (HB) ( "hiss"Medical Terminology for Health Professions, Spiral bound Version'. Cengage Learning; 2016. . pp. 129–.) is a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction. As part of t ...

. The trabeculae carneae also serve a function similar to that of

papillary muscle The papillary muscles are muscles located in the ventricles of the heart. They attach to the cusps of the atrioventricular valves (also known as the mitral and tricuspid valves) via the chordae tendineae and contract to prevent inversion or prol ...

s in that their contraction pulls on the

chordae tendineae The chordae tendineae (tendinous cords), colloquially known as the heart strings, are inelastic cords of fibrous connective tissue that connect the papillary muscles to the tricuspid valve and the mitral valve in the heart. Structure The chordae ...

, preventing inversion of the

mitral The mitral valve (), also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve, is one of the four heart valves. It has two cusps or flaps and lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart. The heart valves are all one-w ...

(bicuspid) and

tricuspid valve The tricuspid valve, or right atrioventricular valve, is on the right dorsal side of the mammalian heart, at the superior portion of the right ventricle. The function of the valve is to allow blood to flow from the right atrium to the right vent ...

s towards the atrial chambers, which would lead to subsequent leakage of the blood back into the atria. By this action on the

atrioventricular valves A heart valve is a one-way valve that allows blood to flow in one direction through the chambers of the heart. Four valves are usually present in a mammalian heart and together they determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart v ...

, backflow of the blood from the ventricles into the atria is prevented. The trabeculae carneae and the papillary muscles make up a significant percentage of the ventricular mass in the heart (12-17% in normal human adult hearts), and are correlated with ventricular end diastolic volume. Trabeculae ratios of capillary-to myocyte differ between the walls of the right and left ventricle. In the left ventricle, each capillary delivers oxygen to one myocyte. However, in the right ventricle the capillary-to myocyte ratio is 0.8 because the right ventricle tissues have a lower oxygen consumption due to a weaker afterload.

References

External links

* ( - "TC" on diagram)
Diagram
at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

—fourth and fifth diagrams from top {{Authority control Veins

Types

Function

See also

References

External links