sympathetic trunk

Information about sympathetic trunk

Nerve:
Abdominal portion of the sympathetic trunk, with the celiac plexus and hypogastric plexus. (Sympathetic trunk labeled at center left.)
Scheme showing structure of a typical spinal nerve. 1. Somatic efferent. 2. Somatic afferent. 3,4,5. Sympathetic efferent. 6,7. Sympathetic afferent.
Latintruncus sympathicus
subject #214 976
Dorlands/Elsevier t_20/12826120
The sympathetic trunk (sympathetic chain, gangliated cord) is a bundle of nerve fibers that runs from the base of the skull to the coccyx. There are two sympathetic trunks in the body, a right one and a left one.

Structure

The sympathetic trunk travels inferiorly from the skull, just lateral to the vertebral bodies. It interacts with the spinal nerves or their ventral root by way of rami communicantes.

The superior end of it is continued upward through the carotid canal into the skull, and forms a plexus on the internal carotid artery; the inferior part travels in front of the coccyx, where it converges with the other trunk at a structure known as the ganglion impar.

Along the length of the sympathetic trunk are ganglia known as paravertebral ganglia.

Function

The sympathetic trunk is a fundamental part of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. It allows nerve fibers to travel to spinal nerves that are superior and inferior to the one in which it originated. Also, a number of nerves, such as most of the splanchnic nerves, arise directly from the trunks.

Additional images


The formation of the spinal nerve from the dorsal and ventral roots.

Transverse section of thorax, showing relations of pulmonary artery.

Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses.

Sacral plexus of the right side.


See also

External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
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Nerves - autonomic nervous system (sympathetic nervous system/ganglion and parasympathetic nervous system/ganglion)
Head/cranialCiliary ganglion (Short ciliary nerves) - Pterygopalatine ganglion (Nerve of pterygoid canal) - Submandibular ganglion - Otic ganglion
Neck/cervicalcervical ganglia: (Superior, Middle, Inferior) - Stellate ganglion
Cavernous plexus - Internal carotid
Chest/thoraxparavertebral: Thoracic ganglia
Cardiac plexus - Thoracic aortic plexus
Thoracic splanchnic nerves - cardiac nerves (Superior, Middle, Inferior)
Abdomen/Lumbarparavertebral: Lumbar ganglia
Celiac plexus - Celiac ganglia (Hepatic, Splenic, Pancreatic) - Aorticorenal (Abdominal aortic plexus, Renal/Suprarenal) - Superior mesenteric (Gastric)
Inferior mesenteric (Spermatic, Ovarian)
hypogastric: Superior hypogastric - Inferior hypogastric (Vesical, Prostatic, Uterovaginal)
enteric nervous system: Meissner's plexus • Auerbach's plexus
Lumbar splanchnic nerves
Pelvis/sacralparavertebral: Sacral ganglia
Ganglion impar
Pelvic splanchnic nerves - Sacral splanchnic nerves
AllSympathetic trunks - Ganglia of sympathetic trunk - Prevertebral ganglia - Rami communicans (White, Gray)
 •  • [ e]
Anatomy of torso (primarily): the spinal cord
Spinal nerveDorsal (Root, Ganglion, Ramus) • Ventral (Root, Ramus) • Sympathetic trunk • rami communicantes (Gray, White)
Gray matter/Rexed laminaePosterior horn (Column of Clarke, Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, Nucleus proprius) • Lateral horn • Anterior horn • Central canal/Substantia gelatinosa centralis
White matter: somatic/ascending (blue)
White matter: motor/descending (red)
LayersEpidural space • Dura mater • Subdural space • Arachnoid mater • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater
Other structuresDenticulate ligaments • Conus medullaris • Cauda equina • Filum terminale • Cervical enlargement • Lumbar enlargement • Anterior median fissure
The celiac plexus (also known as the solar plexus) is a complex network of nerves (a plexus) located in the abdomen.

The celiac plexus is located near where the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery, and renal arteries branch from the abdominal aorta.
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Hypogastric plexus can refer to:
  • Superior hypogastric plexus
  • Inferior hypogastric plexus

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The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. The spinal nerve is the bit that passes out of the vertebrae through the intervertebral foramen.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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skull is a bony structure found in many animals which serves as the general framework for the head. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury.

The skull can be subdivided into two parts: the cranium and the mandible.
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The coccyx (pronounced kok-siks) (Latin: os coccygis), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the human vertebral column, of four fused vertebrae (the coccygeal vertebrae) below the sacrum.
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The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. The spinal nerve is the bit that passes out of the vertebrae through the intervertebral foramen.
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Rami communicans (plural rami communicantes) is the term used for a nerve which connects two other nervers.

When used without further definition, it almost always refers to a communicating branch between a spinal nerve and the sympathetic trunk.
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carotid canal, which ascends at first vertically, and then, making a bend, runs horizontally forward and medialward; it transmits into the cranium the internal carotid artery, and the carotid plexus of nerves.

Sympathetics to the head also pass through the carotid canal.
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A plexus is a network. It has more specific meanings in multiple fields.

Biology

In biology it has multiple meanings.

Nervous system

In many animals the processes of neurons join together to form a plexus or nerve net.
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In human anatomy, the internal carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck that helps supply blood to the brain.

Classification

Terminologia Anatomica currently breaks the artery into four parts: "cervical", "petrous", "cavernous", and "cerebral".
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The coccyx (pronounced kok-siks) (Latin: os coccygis), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the human vertebral column, of four fused vertebrae (the coccygeal vertebrae) below the sacrum.
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ganglion impar (or ganglion of Walther).

Clinicial significance

Physicians at New Jersey Medical School specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation have published that sometimes even just a single local nerve block injection at the ganglion impar can give
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ganglion (pl. ganglia) is a tissue mass, which is composed mainly of somata and dendritic structures, which often interconnect with each other to form a complex system of ganglia known as a plexus.
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Along the length of the sympathetic trunk are ganglia known as ganglia of sympathetic trunk or paravertebral ganglia. The ganglia are distinguished as cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral and, except in the neck, they closely correspond in number to the vertebrae.
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autonomic nervous system (ANS) (or visceral nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system, maintaining homeostasis in the body. These maintenance activities are primarily performed without conscious control or sensation.
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The splanchnic nerves are paired nerves that innervate the viscera, carrying fibers of the autonomic nervous system (visceral efferent fibers) as well as sensory fibers from the organs (which are also known as visceral afferent fibers).
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The splanchnic nerves are paired nerves that innervate the viscera, carrying fibers of the autonomic nervous system (visceral efferent fibers) as well as sensory fibers from the organs (which are also known as visceral afferent fibers).
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The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. The spinal nerve is the bit that passes out of the vertebrae through the intervertebral foramen.
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autonomic nervous system (ANS) (or visceral nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system, maintaining homeostasis in the body. These maintenance activities are primarily performed without conscious control or sensation.
..... Click the link for more information.
The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind in the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
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The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is an academic medical center and is the only one of its kind in the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
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GPnotebook is a British medical database for general practitioners (GPs).[1] It is an online encyclopaedia of medicine that provides an immediate reference resource for clinicians worldwide. The database consists of over 30,000 pages of information.
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eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996 by Scott Plantz and Richard Lavely, two medical doctors. It was sold to WebMD in January 2006.
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University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U of M, UM or simply Michigan) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. The university was founded in 1817 in Detroit, about 20 years before the territory of Michigan officially became a state,
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Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.
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Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of axons (the long, slender projection of a neuron). Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically imprecise since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include the glial cells that
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autonomic nervous system (ANS) (or visceral nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system, maintaining homeostasis in the body. These maintenance activities are primarily performed without conscious control or sensation.
..... Click the link for more information.

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