07 - The Autonomic Nervous System Flashcards
(82 cards)
What is the branch of your nervous system that controls your glands and involuntary muscles?
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
What are the involuntary muscles?
Heart & smooth muscle
What is ANS also called?
Visceral motor nervous system
- Visceral - organs
What is the most important role of ANS?
To maintain homeostasis
Is there a sensory part to the ANS?
Yes
- There is also a sensory part of the system
- It is largely ignored except regarding referred pain and interoception
What are the 2 types of motor division?
- Somatic motor division
- Autonomic motor division
What are the 2 divisions in the autonomic motor division?
Sympathetic division
Parasympathetic division
What is the sympathetic division?
Flight, fight & fright
What is the parasympathetic division?
Rest, relaxation and rumination
What does the somatic motor division control?
Striated or voluntary muscles
What are the 2 nervous systems?
Central nervous system (brain & spinal cord)
Peripheral nervous system
What are the 2 sensory divisions that brings info to the peripheral nervous system?
Autonomic sensory division (mostly interoceptors)
Somatic sensory division
What’s the system? What motor nerve is it?
Voluntary control & one neuron from CNS to effector (no ganglia)
Somatic motor system
Somatic motor nerve
What’s the system? What motor nerve is it?
Involuntary control (autonomous) & two neurons between the CNS and effector
Autonomic motor system
Autonomic motor nerve
What are the 2 neurons between the CNS and effector of the autonomic motor system called?
First: preganglionic
Second: postganglionic
Where does the preganglionic and postganglionic neurons connect?
In areas called autonomic ganglia
What neurotransmitter is used in somatic motor systems?
Acetylcholine
- The only neurotransmitter used
What are the 2 inputs in the autonomic NS?
Sympathetic input
Parasympathetic input
How does the sympathetic input work in the heart?
Sympathetic input speeds up heart rate (tachycardia) and increases the force of contractions
- A positive inotropic effect)
- This is an appropriate response for preparing for fight and flight
How does the parasympathetic input work in the heart?
Parasympathetic input slows heart rate (bradycardia) and decreases the strength of contractions
- A negative inotropic effect
- This is an appropriate response for rest and relaxation
How does the sympathetic input work in the gastrointestinal tract?
Sympathetic input yields relaxation
How does the parasympathetic input work in the gastrointestinal tract?
Parasympathetic increase activity
What would happen if a sympathectomy were performed on the heart (i.e., all the sympathetic input was stopped)?
Decrease in heart rate and blood pressure
Are both types of input of the ANS the same in an organ?
No
- Input from one branch of the ANS is dominant in an organ