Anatomy and physiology of

the nervous system

The nervous system is a complex network of nerves and nerve cells (neurons) that carry signals or messages
to and from the brain and spinal cord to different parts of the body. It is made up of the central nervous
system and the peripheral nervous system.

The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The brain controls most body
functions, including awareness, movements, sensations, thoughts, speech and memory. The spinal cord is
connected to the brain at the brain stem and is covered by the vertebrae of the spine. Nerves exit the spinal
cord to both sides of the body. The spinal cord carries signals back and forth between the brain and the
nerves in the rest of the body.

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the part of the nervous system outside of the CNS. It is made
up of nerves and ganglia that send signals to and receive signals from the CNS. The PNS is divided into the
somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system controls body
movements that are under our control such as walking. The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary
functions that the body does on its own such as breathing and digestion.

The autonomic nervous system is further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
systems. The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for situations that require strength and
heightened awareness or situations that arouse fear, anger, excitement or embarrassment. This is called the
fight-or-flight response. It causes the heart to beat faster, makes you breathe quicker and more shallowly,
dilates the pupils and increases metabolism. The parasympathetic nervous system has a calming effect on
the body. It returns heart rate and breathing to normal, constricts the pupils and slows down metabolism to
conserve energy.

Structure and function of the sympathetic nervous

system
The sympathetic nervous system is made up of the following parts.

Sympathetic chain
The sympathetic chain is made of the sympathetic chain ganglia that run in a chain from the head to the
tailbone (coccyx), along both sides of the spine. Ganglia are clusters of nerve cell bodies. The sympathetic
chain ganglia send messages to the head, neck, lower body (trunk) and extremities during the fight-or-flight
response.

The sympathetic chain ganglia affect spinal nerves and nerves in the chest cavity. This helps to increase
blood flow to skeletal muscles and the brain, stimulate energy production for skeletal muscles to use, release
stored fats and stimulate the sweat glands. It also increases heart rate, increases the pumping action of the
heart and allows more air to move into the lungs.