Neuropathy Knowledge: What Is The Nervous System?

Today's post from sciencedaily.com (see link below) is the sixth part of a series from the same source providing readers with explanations and information about many of the medical terms they hear when researching neuropathy, or sitting in the doctor's surgery and talking about it. Today it explains the 'nervous system' and gives related definitions of other words associated with its workings in the body. Worth following the links if you have the time.

Nervous system
Science Daily via Wikipedia

The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions.

The nervous system of vertebrate animals is often divided into the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).

The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord.

The PNS consists of all other nerves and neurons that do not lie within the CNS.

The large majority of what are commonly called nerves (which are actually axonal processes of nerve cells) are considered to be PNS.

The peripheral nervous system is divided into the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.

The somatic nervous system is responsible for coordinating the body's movements, and also for receiving external stimuli.

It is the system that regulates activities that are under conscious control. The autonomic nervous system is then split into the sympathetic division, parasympathetic division, and enteric division.

The sympathetic nervous system responds to impending danger or stress, and is responsible for the increase of one's heartbeat and blood pressure, among other physiological changes, along with the sense of excitement one feels due to the increase of adrenaline in the system.

The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, is evident when a person is resting and feels relaxed, and is responsible for such things as the constriction of the pupil, the slowing of the heart, the dilation of the blood vessels, and the stimulation of the digestive and genitourinary systems.

The role of the enteric nervous system is to manage every aspect of digestion, from the esophagus to the stomach, small intestine and colon.

For more information about the topic Nervous system, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:


Sensory neuron — Sensory neurons are nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal ... read more


Neural development — The study of neural development draws on both neuroscience and developmental biology to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which ...  read more


Peripheral nervous system — The peripheral nervous system or PNS, is part of the nervous system, and consists of the nerves and neurons that reside or extend outside the central ...  read more


Pupillary reflex — In medicine, the pupillary reflex or pupillary light reflex, is the reduction of pupil size in response to light. It is a normal response and ...  read more


Motor neuron — In vertebrates, motor neurons (also called motoneurons) are efferent neurons that originate in the spinal cord and synapse with muscle fibers to ...  read more


Nociceptor — A nociceptor is a sensory receptor that sends signals that cause the perception of pain in response to potentially damaging stimulus. Nociceptors are ...  read more


Spinal cord — The spinal cord is a part of the vertebrate nervous system that is enclosed in and protected by the vertebral column (it passes through the spinal ...  read more


Neurobiology — Neurobiology is the study of cells of the nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and ...  read more


Sympathetic nervous system — The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which also includes the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The ...  read more


Myelin — Myelin is an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons. It is an outgrowth of glial cells: Schwann cells ...  read more

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/n/nervous_system.htm