Final answer:
The non-chamber structures of the heart include the septa, heart valves, auricles, grooves or sulci, and the muscular wall. These components support the chambers in their function of blood circulation within the heart and are essential to the overall cardiac function.
Step-by-step explanation:
The non-chamber structures of the heart include several important features that play a critical role in its function. These structures are not directly part of the heart chambers but support the overall operation of the cardiac cycle.
The primary non-chamber structures of the heart are the septa, which include the interatrial septum and the atrioventricular septum, the valves that direct blood flow and prevent backflow, the auricles, the fat-filled grooves or sulci that house major coronary blood vessels, as well as the muscular wall of the heart itself.
Septa act as partitions that separate the chambers - the interatrial septum separates the atria, and the atrioventricular septum separates the atria from the ventricles, contributing to the efficiency of blood flow between chambers.
Heart valves, such as the tricuspid, pulmonic, mitral, and aortic valves, ensure unidirectional flow and prevent the backflow of blood.
The auricles are the ear-like extensions of the atria, thin-walled structures that fill with blood and empty into the atria.
The heart's muscular wall and surface features, including the superficial extensions and the major coronary vessels lying in the grooves, are also integral to the structure and function of the heart even though they are not chambers.