0-1 Chapter 15 - Autonomic Nervous System Flashcards
Autonomic Nervous System
- portion of the nervous system that operates in comparative secrecy
- it manages a multitude of unconscious processes responsible for the body’s homeostasis
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
a motor nervous system that controls glands, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle
carries out actions involuntarily–without our conscious intent or awareness
visceral motor system
autonomic nervous system (ANS)
primary organs of the ANS
•viscera of thoracic and abdominal cavities •some structures of the body wall –cutaneous blood vessels –sweat glands –piloerector muscles
denervation hypersensitivity
exaggerated response of cardiac and smooth muscle if autonomic nerves are severed
visceral reflexes
unconscious, automatic, stereotyped responses to stimulation involving visceral receptors and effectors and somewhat slower responses
visceral reflex arc
–receptors–nerve endings that detect stretch, tissue damage, blood chemicals, body temperature, and other internal stimuli
–afferent neurons –leading to the CNS
–interneurons–in the CNS
–efferent neurons –carry motor signals away from the CNS
–effectors–that make adjustments
Visceral Reflex to High BP
high blood pressure detected by arterial stretch receptors (1), afferent neuron (2) carries signal to CNS, efferent (3) signals travel to the heart (4), heart slows reducing blood pressure
Divisions of ANS
•two divisions innervate same target organs
–may have cooperative or contrasting effects
sympathetic division
parasympathetic division
sympathetic division
prepares body for physical activity –exercise, trauma, arousal, competition, anger, or fear
•increases heart rate, BP, airflow, blood glucose levels, etc
•reduces blood flow to the skin and digestive tract
parasympathetic division
calms many body functions reducing energy expenditure and assists in bodily maintenance
•digestion and waste elimination
•“resting and digesting” state
autonomic tone
normal background rate of activity that represents the balance of the two systems according to the body’s changing needs
parasympathetic tone
- maintains smooth muscle tone in intestines
* holds resting heart rate down to about 70 –80 beats per minute
sympathetic tone
keeps most blood vessels partially constricted and maintains blood pressure
balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic
sympathetic division excites the heart but inhibits digestive and urinary function, while parasympathetic has the opposite effect
Neural Pathways
ANS has components in both the central and peripheral nervous systems
–control nucleus in thehypothalamus and other brainstem regions
–motor neurons in the spinal cord and peripheral ganglia
–nerve fibers that travel through the cranial and spinal nerves
somatic motor pathway
–a motor neuron from the brainstem or spinal cord issues a myelinated axon that reaches all the way to the skeletal muscle
autonomic pathway
–signal must travel across two neurons to get to the target organ
–must cross a synapse where these two neurons meet in an autonomic ganglion
presynaptic neuron
the first neuron has a soma in the brainstem or spinal cord
postganglionic neuron
synapses with a postganglionic neuron whose axon extends the rest of the way to the target cell
ANS –two neurons from CNS to effectors
- presynaptic neuron whose cell body is in CNS
* postsynaptic neuron cell body in peripheral ganglion
Sympathetic Nervous System
also called the thoracolumbar division because it arises from the thoracic and lumbar regions of the spinal cord
relatively short preganglionic and long postganglionic fibers
preganglionic neurosomas
in lateral horns and nearby regions of the gray matter of spinal cord
–fibers exit spinal cord by way of spinal nerves T1 to L2
–lead to nearby sympathetic chain of ganglia (paravertebral ganglia)
sympathetic chain of ganglia
- series of longitudinal ganglia adjacent to both sides of the vertebral column from cervical to coccygeal levels
- usually 3 cervical, 11 thoracic, 4 lumbar, 4 sacral, and 1 coccygeal ganglion
- sympathetic nerve fibers are distributed to every level of the body
preganglionic fibers are
small myelinated fibers that travel form spinal nerve to the ganglion by way of the white communicating ramus (myelinated)
postganglionic fibers leave the ganglion by way
of the gray communicating ramus (unmyelinated)
•forms a bridge back to the spinal nerve
postganglionic fibers extend
postganglionic fibers extend the rest of the way to the target organ
after entering the sympathetic chain, the preganglionic fibers may follow any of three courses
some end in ganglia
some travel up or down the chain
some pass through the chain without synapsing
nerve fibers leave the sympathetic chain by
spinal, sympathetic, and splanchnic nerves
spinal nerve route
- some postganglionic fibers exit a ganglion by way of the gray ramus
- returns to the spinal nerve and travels the rest of the way to the target organ
- most sweat glands, piloerector muscles, and blood vessels of the skin and skeletal muscles