Gray ramus communicans: Difference between revisions
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==Specific Functions in the [[Autonomic nervous system|ANS]]== |
==Specific Functions in the [[Autonomic nervous system|ANS]]== |
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:Some [[Cervical ganglia]] and [[Thoracic ganglia]] send gray rami |
:Some [[Cervical ganglia]] and [[Thoracic ganglia]] send gray rami communicantes directly to the heart. <ref>F. Netter, Autonomic Nervous System: Schema, Back and Spinal Cord, Plate 153</ref> |
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:All [[Thoracic ganglia]] send grey rami communicantes to their adjacent body wall. They supply blood vessels, sweat glands, and arrectores pilorum muscles. |
:All [[Thoracic ganglia]] send grey rami communicantes to their adjacent body wall. They supply blood vessels, sweat glands, and arrectores pilorum muscles. |
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: All [[lumbar ganglia]] have grey rami communicantes that rejoin the appropriate spinal nerves to supply the abdominal wall and lower limbs. |
: All [[lumbar ganglia]] have grey rami communicantes that rejoin the appropriate spinal nerves to supply the abdominal wall and lower limbs. |
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Revision as of 23:34, 13 June 2012
| Gray ramus communicans | |
|---|---|
 Scheme showing structure of a typical spinal nerve. 1. Somatic efferent. 2. Somatic afferent. 3,4,5. Sympathetic efferent. 6,7. Sympathetic afferent. | |
 Diagram of the course and branches of a typical intercostal nerve. (Rami communicantes labeled at center.) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | ramus communicans griseus nervi spinalis |
| TA98 | A14.3.01.006 |
| TA2 | 6149 |
| FMA | 5876 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Each spinal nerve receives a branch, gray ramus communicans, from the adjacent ganglion of the sympathetic trunk.
They contain unmyelinated postganglionic sympathetic fibers.
Function (overview)
After signals are carried from the spinal cord to the ganglion through the ventral ramus, they synapse in the ganglion, and then post-ganglionic fibres carry them to the organs that they innervate. But if the response is the whole body response, as in sympathetic fight or flight, the signals are distributed to other spinal nerves by way of gray rami which serve as bridges between the spinal nerves.
Specific Functions in the ANS
- Some Cervical ganglia and Thoracic ganglia send gray rami communicantes directly to the heart. [1]
- All Thoracic ganglia send grey rami communicantes to their adjacent body wall. They supply blood vessels, sweat glands, and arrectores pilorum muscles.
- All lumbar ganglia have grey rami communicantes that rejoin the appropriate spinal nerves to supply the abdominal wall and lower limbs.
- The pelvic ganglia form grey rami communicantes whose lateral (postganglionic) branches supply the pelvic wall and lower limb.
See also
References
- ^ F. Netter, Autonomic Nervous System: Schema, Back and Spinal Cord, Plate 153
Wilson-Pauwels, Linda; Stewart, Patricia A.; Akesson, Elizabeth J. (1997). Autonomic Nerves. Canada: B. C. Decker, Inc. pp. 71–104. ISBN 978-1-55009-030-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Additional images
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Deep and superficial dissection of the lumbar plexus.
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Thoracic portion of the sympathetic trunk.
External links
- Template:EMedicineDictionary
- Atlas image: n3a6p1 at the University of Michigan Health System - "Autonomic Connections of the Spinal Cord"
- Overview and diagram
Anatomy of the autonomic nervous system | |||||
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| Head |
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| Neck |
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| Thorax |
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| Abdomen |
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| Pelvis |
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