Autonomic Nervous System
- Autonomic nervous system (ANS) refers to neural pathways that connect the central nervous system with involuntary effectors.
- An effector is a target tissue or organ that carries out a response, and involuntary means the response is not normally under conscious control.
- Smooth muscle is a major autonomic effector because it controls structures such as blood vessels, airways, the gastrointestinal tract, and the bladder.
- Cardiac muscle is a major autonomic effector because autonomic output changes heart rate, conduction, and contractility.
- Glands are major autonomic effectors because autonomic output changes secretion, including sweating and other glandular responses.
- Somatic nervous system differs from the autonomic nervous system because it innervates skeletal muscle for voluntary movement.
- Sympathetic division is one major division of the autonomic nervous system.
- Parasympathetic division is one major division of the autonomic nervous system.
- Enteric division is one major division of the autonomic nervous system and is especially linked to gastrointestinal control.
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