Sympathetic nervous system | Definition & Function (2024)

sympathetic nervous system, division of the nervous system that functions to produce localized adjustments (such as sweating as a response to an increase in temperature) and reflex adjustments of the cardiovascular system. Under conditions of stress, the entire sympathetic nervous system is activated, producing an immediate widespread response called the fight-or-flight response. This response is characterized by the release of large quantities of epinephrine from the adrenal gland, an increase in heart rate, an increase in cardiac output, skeletal muscle vasodilation, cutaneous and gastrointestinal vasoconstriction, pupillary dilation, bronchial dilation, and piloerection. The overall effect is to prepare the individual for imminent danger.

The actions of the sympathetic nervous system occur in concert with other neural or hormonal responses to stress, including increases in corticotropin and cortisol secretion. In humans, chronic stress results in long-term stimulation of the fight-or-flight response, which leads to constant production and secretion of catecholamines (e.g., epinephrine) and hormones such as cortisol. Long-term stress-induced secretion of these substances is associated with a variety of physiological consequences, including hyperglycemia (high blood glucose levels), which can lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension (high blood pressure), which can lead to cardiovascular disease.

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human nervous system: Sympathetic nervous system

Anatomically, the sympathetic preganglionic neurons, the cell bodies of which are located within the central nervous system, originate in the lateral horns of the 12 thoracic and the first 2 or 3 lumbar segments of the spinal cord. (For this reason the sympathetic system is sometimes referred to as the thoracolumbar outflow.) The axons of these neurons exit the spinal cord in the ventral roots and then synapse on either sympathetic ganglion cells or specialized cells in the adrenal gland called chromaffin cells.

The sympathetic nervous system is one of two antagonistic sets of nerves of the autonomic nervous system; the other set constitutes the parasympathetic nervous system.