Question

What will be the immediate effect if due to some injury, the chordae tendinae of the tricuspid valve of the human heart becomes non-functional?

• A. The flow of blood into the pulmonary artery will be reduced.
• B. The flow of blood into the aorta will be slowed down.
• C. The pacemaker will stop working.
• D. The blood will tend to flow back into the left atrium.

Answer 1

The correct option is A The flow of blood into the pulmonary artery will be reduced.

The chordae tendinae of the heart are thread-like bands of fibrous tissue which attach on one end to the edges of the tricuspid and mitral valves of the heart and on the other end to the papillary muscles. These bands help in the maintenance of the position and tension on both the atrioventricular valve leaflets at end of the systole. Thus preventing the backflow of the blood from the ventricles into the atria.

If chordae tendinae of the tricuspid valve of the human heart becomes non-functional, the flow of blood into the pulmonary artery will reduce as there will less volume of blood going into the pulmonary artery because of the backflow of the blood.

Hence, the correct answer is (A).