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12.1: Introduction to the Peripheral Nervous System

  • Page ID
    64074

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    Chapter Learning Objectives

    After studying this chapter, you will be able to:

    • List the cranial nerves in order of anatomical location and provide the central and peripheral connections
    • List the spinal nerves by vertebral region and by which nerve plexus each supplies

    The peripheral nervous system consists of the nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord as well as the clusters of neuron cell bodies called ganglia. These nerves are the communication "wires" sending messages from the sensory receptors to the CNS and from the CNS to effector organs such as muscles and glands.. The peripheral nervous system is divided into the sensory and motor divisions, with the motor division further subdivided into visceral motor (the autonomic nervous system) and somatic motor.

    Nervous System Diagram.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Organization of the peripheral nervous system. (The original uploader was Fuzzform at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)

    This page titled 12.1: Introduction to the Peripheral Nervous System is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Jennifer Lange et al..

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