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ICSE Question Bank
2016Q1(e)(ii)The Circulatory System
Short answerHard1 mark
1(e)

State the exact location of the following structures:

Chordae tendinae

Topic: Location of the chordae tendinae

Previous-year question practice database

Answer

Exam answer

In the VENTRICLES of the heart — tendinous cords attached to the FLAPS OF THE BICUSPID AND TRICUSPID (atrioventricular) VALVES at one end and to the papillary muscles of the ventricle wall at the other.

Explanation

THEIR PURPOSE: when the ventricles contract, the pressure inside is enormous and would turn the valve flaps inside out into the atria. The PAPILLARY MUSCLES contract at the same moment and pull on the chordae tendinae, holding the flaps firmly in position so that blood cannot flow backwards.

The two structures always go together, and naming both in an answer about either shows you understand the mechanism rather than the anatomy alone.

They are sometimes called the "heart strings".

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