Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Sympathetic trunk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nerve: Sympathetic trunk | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| 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. | ||
| Latin | truncus sympathicus | |
| Gray's | 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.
Contents |
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.
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.
 The formation of the spinal nerve from the dorsal and ventral roots. |
 Transverse section of thorax, showing relations of pulmonary artery. |
 The thoracic aorta, viewed from the left side. |
 Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses. |
 Sacral plexus of the right side. |
 Diagram of efferent sympathetic nervous system. |
 Sympathetic connections of the ciliary and superior cervical ganglia. |
- SUNY Figs 21:04-04 - "The position of the right and left vagus nerves, and sympathetic trunks in the mediastinum."
- SUNY Labs 43:15-0102 - "The Female Pelvis: The Posterolateral Pelvic Wall"
- -1764753348 at GPnotebook
- Sympathetic+trunk at eMedicine Dictionary
- Atlas of anatomy at UMich n3a6p1 - "Autonomic Connections of the Spinal Cord"
- Diagram at umm.edu
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.
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Spinal nerve | Dorsal (Root, Ganglion, Ramus) • Ventral (Root, Ramus) • Sympathetic trunk • rami communicantes (Gray, White) |
| Gray matter/Rexed laminae | Posterior 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) |
Lateral: Corticospinal (Lateral) • Ep (Rubrospinal, Olivospinal) Anterior: Corticospinal (Anterior) • Ep (Vestibulospinal, Tectospinal, Reticulospinal) |
| Layers | Epidural space • Dura mater • Subdural space • Arachnoid mater • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater |
| Other structures | Denticulate ligaments • Conus medullaris • Cauda equina • Filum terminale • Cervical enlargement • Lumbar enlargement • Anterior median fissure |