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 division of the nervous system that will be handling the body’s after-dinner activities is the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which is responsible for stimulation of rest and digest. The PNS sends signals to and from different body parts via 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 goose bumps, and her hands were sweaty. How would you explain these effects?
My friend's pulse rate accelerated, she got goosebumps, and her palms started sweating because her sympathetic nervous system (SNS) was activated. The SNS is well-known for its part in the "fight-or-flight" response, which occurs as a reaction to potentially harmful or stressful events. Important biological activities, including heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, body temperature, sweating, and digestion, are all controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS) without conscious input from the individual. The system allows humans, such as my friend, to make quick internal adjustments and react without thinking about it.
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References:
- Lanese, N., & Dutfield, S. (2022, February 09). Fight or flight: The sympathetic nervous system. Retrieved from Live Science: https://www.livescience.com/65446-sympathetic-nervous-system.html
- Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. H. (2017). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (15th ed.). Wiley.