Further, throughout development some trabeculae carneae condense to form the myocardium, papillary muscles, chordae tendineae, and septum.

Their fractal branching pattern helps to maintain cardiac performance in both healthy and failing hearts by increasing contractility and stroke work.

[3] Trabecular morphology is also important to intraventricular conduction, suggesting these complex structures are involved in cardiac electrophysiology as well as mechanical function.

The trabeculae carneae also serve a function similar to that of papillary muscles in that their contraction pulls on the chordae tendineae, preventing inversion of the mitral (bicuspid) and tricuspid valves towards the atrial chambers, which would lead to subsequent leakage of the blood back into the atria.

[6] This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 532 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)