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.
The parasympathetic nervous system handles the body’s relaxation and life-sustaining processes including digestion.
Organs involved:
- Stomach
- Vagus nerve tells it to churn the food within it, as well as to produce stomach acid that is necessary for digestion
- Liver
- Vagus nerve regulates bile secretion
- Pancreas
- Vagus nerve stimulates pancreatic juice secretion
- Small and Large Intestine
- Vagus nerve increased motility and controls closing and opening of the sphincter
- Anus
- Vagus nerve aids in defecation
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 goose bumps, and her heads were sweaty. How would you explain these effects?
Her fight or flight response kicked in due to the stressful situation, triggering her sympathetic nervous system. The responses her body sent out were designed to help her decide much faster, to avoid a dangerous situation.