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Sympathetic nervous system
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{{Short description|Part of the autonomic nervous system which stimulates fight-or-flight responses}} {{Infobox anatomy | Name = Sympathetic nervous system | Latin = pars sympathica divisionis autonomici systematis nervosi | Acronym = SNS or SANS | Image = Blausen 0838 Sympathetic Innervation.png | Caption = Schematic illustration showing the sympathetic nervous system with sympathetic cord and target organs. }} The '''sympathetic nervous system''' ('''SNS''' or '''SANS''', sympathetic autonomic nervous system, to differentiate it from the [[somatic nervous system]]) is one of the three divisions of the [[autonomic nervous system]], the others being the [[parasympathetic nervous system]] and the [[enteric nervous system]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dorland's|title=Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary|date=2012|publisher=Elsevier Saunders|isbn=978-1-4160-6257-8|page=1862|edition=32nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|vauthors=Pocock G, Richards C|title=Human Physiology The Basis of Medicine|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-856878-0|page=63|edition=Third}}</ref> The enteric nervous system is sometimes considered part of the autonomic nervous system, and sometimes considered an independent system.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-07-21|title=14.1B: Divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System|url=https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Anatomy_and_Physiology/Book%3A_Anatomy_and_Physiology_(Boundless)/14%3A_Autonomic_Nervous_System/14.1%3A_Introduction_to_the_Autonomic_Nervous_System/14.1B%3A_Divisions_of_the_Autonomic_Nervous_System|access-date=2021-07-21|website=Medicine LibreTexts|language=en}}</ref> The autonomic nervous system functions to regulate the body's unconscious actions. The sympathetic nervous system's primary process is to stimulate the body's [[fight or flight response]]. It is, however, constantly active at a basic level to maintain [[homeostasis]].<ref name="brodal">{{cite book |vauthors = Brodal P|title=The Central Nervous System: Structure and Function |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WdATFQ0YUrMC&pg=PA369 |edition=3 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |year=2004 |pages=369β396 |isbn=0-19-516560-8}}</ref> The sympathetic nervous system is described as being antagonistic to the parasympathetic nervous system. The latter stimulates the body to "feed and breed" and to (then) "rest-and-digest". The SNS has a major role in various physiological processes such as blood glucose levels, body temperature, cardiac output, and immune system function. The formation of sympathetic neurons being observed at embryonic stage of life and its development during aging shows its significance in health; its dysfunction has shown to be linked to various health disorders.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scott-Solomon |first1=Emily |last2=Boehm |first2=Erica |last3=Kuruvilla |first3=Rejji |title=The sympathetic nervous system in development and disease |journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience |date=November 2021 |volume=22 |issue=11 |pages=685β702 |doi=10.1038/s41583-021-00523-y |pmid=34599308 |pmc=8530968 }}</ref>
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