The Nervous System (NS)

The Nervous System (NS)

1. Peripheral NS (PNS)

   • Consists of nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body.
   • Autonomic NS (ANS)
     • Regulates involuntary or "automatic" functions. Conducts impulses from the spinal cord or brainstem to cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glandular epithelial tissues. 
     • Sympathetic NS
       • Emergency system designed for "fight" or "flight" responses. Reacts to any sort of stress on the body.
     • Parasympathetic
       • Counterbalances the sympathetic nervous system. Responsible for digestion and other visceral processes.
   • Somatic NS
     • Motor nerves control voluntary actions of skeletal muscle.

2. Central NS

   • Centrally located. Protected by meninges, skull, vertebral column.
   • Brain
     • Forebrain
       • Telencephalon
         • Cerebral cortex
         • Basal ganglia
         • Hippocampus
         • Amygdala
       • Diencephalon
         • Thalamus
         • Hypothalamus
     • Hindbrain
       • Metencephalon
         • Pons & Cerebellum
       • Myelencephalon
         • Medulla
     • Midbrain
       • Mesencephalon
         • Tectum
         • Cerebellum
   • Spinal Cord