ANS Thorax Flashcards
What is the ANS function with respect to the heart?
Heart can beat normally without any autonomic input, but SANS + PANS modify the rate and strength of cardiac contractility (cardiac output)
What is the ANS function with respect to the lungs?
Innervates smooth muscles of the bronchial tree to increase / decrease the lumen patency of airways, also innervates mucus glands + blood vessels
What are the visceral sensory (VA) fibers of the thorax?
Sense stretch (volume) from distention of wall of airways and major vessels, + chemoreceptors, and will function as part of ANS reflexes
What is the PANS course of the right vagus nerve?
- Cross subclavian artery with vagus
- Contribute to pulmonary plexus
- Some fibers continue to esophageal plexus
- Distal esophageal plexus form posterior vagal trunk through esophageal hiatus
What is the PANS course of the left vagus nerve?
- Cross arch of aorta with vagus
- Contribute to pulmonary plexus
- Some fibers continue to esophageal plexus
- Distal esophageal plexus forms anterior vagal trunk through esophageal hiatus
How does SANS innervate the thoracic viscera?
- Preganglionic cell bodies in ILC of T1-T5
- Preganglionic fibers enter SCG through WCR, the same axons will descend or ascend SCG
- Preganglionic fibers terminate in 3 cervical or upper 4-5 thoracic ganglia
- Postganglionic fibers leave as cardiac, pulmonary, esophageal, or aortic SANS nerves, and pass through ANS plexuses to reach their visceral targets
What are the three components of a thoracic plexus?
- Preganglionic PANS (VE)
- Postganglionic SANS (VE)
- Visceral afferent fibers (sensory - VA)
What are the four subdivisions of the cardiac plexus and where do they occur?
- Superficial - over arch of aorta
- Deep - between bifurcation of trachea and aortic arch
- Right / Left Atrial - over right + left atria, under epicardium of heart
- Right / Left Coronary - Over the right and left coronary artery + branches
Where is the pulmonary plexus?
The walls of bronchi
Where is the esophagus (enteric) plexus?
In the walls of the GI tract. Esophageal plexus is just the proximal portion of the larger enteric plexus
Where is the aortic plexus?
In the thoracic aorta
What is the PANS course to modify the heart?
- Ambiguus nucleus and dorsal motor nucleus of vagus nerve in medulla
- Preganglionic fibers run with vagus and separate to join the cardiac plexus, pierce epicardium
- Terminate in Terminal ganglia under the epicardium
- Postganglionic fibers innervate SA (mostly left vagus), AV (mostly right), as well as purkinje system
What is the function of PANS to the heart? What are the receptors?
Decreases heart rate (bradycardia), reduces force of myocardial contractility, and increases smooth muscle tone of coronary arteries to decrease blood flow (less metabolic demand)
Ach released at muscarinic cholinergic receptors
What is the SANS course to modify the heart?
More extensive than PANS
- ILC from T1-T4
- SANS preganglionic enter SCG
- Synapse in 3 cervical + T1-T4 thoracic ganglia
- SANS postganglionic follow SANS cardiac nerve to cardiac plexus to innervate conduction system
- SANS postganglionic also follow coronary arteries + branches to reach ventricular myocardium + smooth muscles of coronary arteries
What is the stellate ganglion?
ANS ganglion of brachial plexus. It is the fused inferior cervical ganglion + T1 thoracic ganglion