The sympathetic nerve controls many involuntary responses in the body. In this article, we will explain what are the ways it affects the different organs of the body.

The Parasympathetic nervous system, or what is called the sympathetic nerve for short, is one of the divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Let us learn more about it in the following:

Parasympathetic nerve

The sympathetic nervous system, or what is called the sympathetic nerve, is one of the two parts of the autonomic nervous system, and the involuntary system means that it works mainly unconsciously and in many ways to regulate many functions and parts of the body.

In other words, the sympathetic nervous system controls the fight-or-flight response, while the sympathetic nervous system controls the rest and digestion response.

Parasympathetic nerve function

The sympathetic nerve affects many organs, such as

The lacrimal glands that secrete tears from the eyes.

Parotid glands that secrete saliva.

Nerves in the stomach and trunk.

The nerves in the bladder.

Nerves and blood vessels responsible for male erection.

The influence of the sympathetic nerve on these organs often results in many involuntary changes in the body, such as:

Increased sweating, as a result of its ability to increase secretions in the body.

Facial redness, as a result of its ability to increase the expansion of blood vessels in the body.

Mydriasis.

Increased or decreased heart rate.

increased blood pressure

Increased breathing rate.

As mentioned earlier, the response of the sympathetic nerve is to control the response to rest and digestion. The end result of this response is:

Energy conservation.

Regulate basic body functions, such as: digestion and urination.

The sympathetic nerve is contrasted with the sympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is described as controlling the fight-or-flight response that occurs in situations in which a person is under stress and having functions essentially opposite to those of the sympathetic nerve response.

Parasympathetic nerve pathway

The course of the sympathetic nervous system can be simplified by explaining its components of neurons, which are as follows:

Sympathetic neurons before a synapse

These presynaptic neurons are located in the parasympathetic system within the medulla oblongata, and presynaptic cells exit fibers to meet with the postsynaptic fibers.

Post-synaptic sympathetic neurons

Postsynaptic cells are near the organs that the sympathetic nerve affects, and when these cells take the signal from the presynaptic cells, the nerve impulse is transmitted and affects the target organs.

What happens to the body if the sympathetic nerve is damaged?

The continuous functioning of the sympathetic system leads to many health risks, the most prominent of which are the following:

Increased chance of developing diabetes.

Increasing the possibility of exposure to cardiovascular diseases, as the increase in blood flow and high blood pressure constantly leads to this pathological result.

Increased exposure to mental illness.

It is worth knowing that damage to the sympathetic nerve, especially in cases of amputation, leads to severe pain in the remaining part of the amputated organ.

Sympathetic nerve treatment

It was also mentioned that it is possible to feel severe pain spreading in the remaining part of the amputated organ, and therefore it is necessary to treat these pains, and treatment is done in one of the following ways:

Take painkillers for this pain.

Taking an injection into the sympathetic nerve that feeds the remaining part of the amputated area through a device called a radiological interference device.