Objectives
Introduction 1. Define autonomic nervous system and explain its relationship to the peripheral nervous system. 2. Compare the somatic and autonomic nervous systems relative to effectors, efferent pathways, and neurotransmitters released. 3. Compare and contrast the functions of the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions.
ANS Anatomy 4. For the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions, describe the site of CNS origin, locations of ganglia, and general fiber pathways.
ANS Physiology 5. Define cholinergic and adrenergic fibers, and list the different types of their receptors. 6. Describe the clinical importance of drugs that mimic or inhibit adrenergic or cholinergic effects. 7. State the effects of the parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions on the following organs: heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, adrenal medulla, and external genitalia. 8. Describe autonomic nervous system controls.
Homeostatic Imbalances of the ANS 9. Explain the relationship of some types of hypertension, Raynaud’s disease, and autonomic dysreflexia to disorders of autonomic functioning.
Developmental Aspects of the ANS 10. Describe some effects of aging on the autonomic nervous system.
Suggested Lecture Outline I. Introduction (pp. 526–528, Figs. 14.1–14.2)
A. Comparison of the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous Systems (pp. 526–527; Fig. 14.2)
1. The somatic nervous system stimulates skeletal muscles, while the ANS innervates cardiac and smooth muscle and glands.
2. In the somatic nervous system, the cell bodies of the neurons are in the spinal cord and their axons extend to the skeletal muscles they innervate. The ANS consists of a two-neuron chain.
3. The neurotransmitter released by the somatic motor neurons is acetylcholine, which always has an excitatory effect; the neurotransmitters released by the ANS are epinephrine and acetylcholine, and both may have either an excitatory or an