Here's a great shot of the papillary muscles and the chordae tendinae inside the heart.
The papillary muscles within the ventricles attach to the cusps of the atrioventricular valves via the tendinous chords, which are referred to as the “heart strings” since they resemble small pieces of string.
Chordae tendinae are cords that have their origin by the tip of the papillary muscles and insert on the rough zone of the mitral or tricuspid valve leaflets. After their origin and before their insertion, they split in numerous branches and interconnections that ensure a balanced distribution of the mechanical forces among chordae.
They make up the leaflet suspension system that ultimately determine and maintain the position and tension on the valve leaflets and prevent the prolapse of the mitral and tricuspid valves during ventricular systole, thus prevent regurgitation (or back flow) of the blood during back to the right or left atrium.
Regurgitation can be the result of papillary dysfunction or chordate rupture, which commonly happened following an acute myocardial infarction.
Photo by @alexxtaylorrrrr
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