Autonomic Physiology Flashcards
How does the nervous system branch out?
Central Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System
How does the peripheral nervous system branch out?
Afferent Division - sensory
Efferent division - motor
Autonomic Nervous System
Somatic Nervous System
How does the autonomic nervous system branch out?
Parasympathetic nervous system: rest and digest
Sympathetic nervous system: fight or flight
Describe the length of parasympathetic neurons
Long preganglionic neurons
Short postganglionic neurons
What % of all parasympathetic outflow comes from the vagus nerve that supplies the thoracic and abdominal viscera?
75%
Describe the myelination in pre-ganglionic and post-ganglionic fibres in the autonomic nervous system
Pre-ganglionic fibre is small myelinated, post- ganglionic fibre is unmyelinated
Where do the ganglia lie in the sympathetic nervous system?
Paravertebral ganglia lie in the sympathetic trunk which is close to the spinal cord.
Prevertebral ganglia lie in the collateral ganglia
So trunk = paravertebral, anything else = prevertebral
What type of information does the ventral horn carry?
Neurons send fibres to the skeletal muscles, causing muscle contraction
What type of information does the dorsal horn carry?
Receive sensory information from all around the body
White ramus is what kind of ganglionic fibre and why?
Pre - ganglionic, because of the myelination
What is the grey matter made up of?
Cell bodies of the axons
What is white matter made up of?
Axons linking the different parts of grey matter together
Where do nerves leave the spine in the parasympathetic nervous system?
Cranial and sacral regions of the spine
Where do the ganglia lie in the parasympathetic nervous system?
Close to the target
How are sweat glands innervated?
Sympathetic cholinergenic fibers
What class of neurotransmitters are NO and peptides?
Nonchollinergenic and nonadregenic receptors
What does the autonomic nervous system control?
Things you don’t think about:
Blood vessels
Airways
Bladder
Eye
Sex organs
Cardiac muscle
Glands
How do the somatic and autonomic NS differ in their fibres?
Somatic NS: One fibre
Autonomic NS: two fibres
Preganglionic fibre
Post ganglionic fibre
Where are the cell bodies of motor neurons in the somatic nervous system?
Ventral horn of the spinal cord
What is the collection of cell bodies in the autonomic nervous system called?
Ganglion
What is the difference in the myelination of the pre and post ganglionic fibres of the autonomic nervous system?
The pre-ganglionic fibres are small and myelinated, whereas the post-ganglionic fibres are unmyelinated.
Describe the junction in the autonomic nervous system
Less specialised than the somatic nervous system
Metabotropic receptors
May excite or inhibit target cells
What does the sympathetic branch of the nervous system do?
Fight or flight
What does the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system do?
Rest and digest