Morphometric study on posterior papillary muscles of human tricuspid valve

Background: Aim of the present study was to observe the measurements of posterior papillary muscles present in tricuspid valve of human heart. Measurements of posterior papillary muscles in tricuspid valve gains utmost importance in cardiac surgeries because they are the causes of myocardial infarction in recent times because of its variations and detection of these causes by advent in modern technologies which will help in treatment of tricuspid valve diseases. Material and methods: This study was carried out on 96 normal formalin fixed human heart specimens. Dissection was performed according to standard techniques. Posterior papillary muscles were observed and length, width and thickness of each muscle were measured and documented. Results: In the present study, numbers of posterior papillary muscles were present with a frequency of 0-7, with most common appearance of 2 muscles in 38 hearts (39.6%) and least common incidence of 0 muscles in 1 heart (1%). Posterior papillary muscles were present in 95 hearts, with maximum number of 7 muscles in 1 heart (1%) and minimum number of 1 muscle in 27 hearts (28.1%). In measurements of papillary muscles, posterior papillary muscle mean height was 1.05±0.37 cm, mean width was 0.63±0.17 cm and mean thickness was 0.5±0.11 cm respectively. Conclusion: This study serves to understand the morphometry of posterior papillary muscles better and can help in various surgical procedures and cardiac treatment done on tricuspid valve.