1. You have been to an ‘eat all you can’ buffet and have consumed large amounts of food. After returning home, you recline on the couch to watch television. Which division of the nervous system will be handling your body’s after-dinner activities? List several organs involved, the major nerve supply to each organ, and the effects of the nervous system on their functions.
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The parasympathetic nervous system will handle my body’s after-dinner activities.
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Vagus nerve (gut, liver, heart, lungs) - supplies digestive tract from esophagus to transverse colon
Pelvic splanchnic nerves (urinary bladder, hindgut, ureter, prostate, urethra) - supply descending colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum
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Vagus nerve - regulation of inernal organ functions
Pelvic splanchnic nerves - regulate emptying of urinary bladder, motility in rectum
https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/pelvic-splanchnic-nerves
2. Your friend is driving home from work, listening to her favorite music, when suddenly a bicycle came out of nowhere. She manages to swerve avoiding hitting the bicycle. She continued to drive home but she noticed that her heart is beating fast, she had goosebumps, and her heads were sweaty. How would you explain these effects?
Generally, these effects are caused by the activation of the body’s fight or flight response. This can be triggered by stressful situations and life-threatening events. The hypothalamus is alerted during moments of disaster or threat towards ones self, causing adrenaline to pump out of adrenal glands, consequently resulting in a phenomenon called adrenaline rush. This causes sweating, increase heart rate, and goosebumps towards the end.
https://theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/04/stress-anxiety-knees-weak-palms-sweaty