Autonomic nervous system

Question 1

The autonomic NS is made up of

Answer 1

sympathetic and parasympathetic

Question 2

the ANS innervates

Answer 2

cardiac and smooth muscles, and glands

Question 3

cutaneous nerves contain

Answer 3

sensory afferent (to go to CNS) and sympathetic efferent (flight or flight to the skin–sweating)

Question 4

set up of the autonomic pathway (sympathetic)

Answer 4

preganglionic neuron (myelinated) in the CNS and post-ganglionic neuron (unmyelinated) in the PNS which then goes to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands

Question 5

whether a nerve is sympathetic or parasympathetic depends on

Answer 5

the location of the first neurons cell body

Question 6

sympathetic 1st neuron cell bodies located in

Answer 6

thoracolumbar only (T1-L2)

Question 7

parasympathetic 1st neuron cell bodies located in

Answer 7

cranio-sacral (brain and S2-S4)

Question 8

sympathetic pathways

Answer 8

short pre, long post

Question 9

parasympathetic pathways

Answer 9

long pre, short post

Question 10

sympathetic pathways travel via

Answer 10

the sympathetic chain. they enter off of the ventral ramus of the spinal nerve, through the white rami communicantes into the sympathetic chain. they then travel up or down the chain into a ganglion. signal sent into post ganglionic neuron which travels out the chain through the gray rami communicantes

Question 11

some ganglia are located outside of the sympathetic chain. So the pre ganglionic neurons travel through the chain, then out to meet the ganglia in the following locations

Answer 11

celiac & aorticorenal
superior mesenteric
inferior mesenteric

Question 12

whats special about the sympathetic pathways to the head (that still originate in thoracolumbar area)?

Answer 12

there are no gray rami communicantes that exit the sympathetic chain. so the post ganglionic neurons exit the ganglia and go directly to a gland (the axon is on an artery from the superior cervical ganglion in the neck for example)

Question 13

the sympathetic pathways to the abdominal organs

Answer 13

The preganglionic neuron passes through the sympathetic trunk without synapsing and exits the trunk via a splanchnic nerve to course into the body cavity and synapse with a postganglionic neuron in a prevertebral ganglion (ex.celiac ganglion).

Question 14

Parasympathetic landmark

Answer 14

the L colic flexure is the dividing line between the vagal CN (X) and the pelvic splanchnic innervation of the gut. So it separates the innervation coming from the nuclei in the brain from innervation coming from the nuclei in the spinal cord segments S2-S4