SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
| Pronunciation (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does sympathetic nervous system mean?
• SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (noun)
The noun SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM has 1 sense:
1. originates in the thoracic regions of the spinal cord; opposes physiological effects of the parasympathetic: reduces digestive secretions; speeds the heart; contracts blood vessels
Familiarity information: SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM used as a noun is very rare.
Dictionary entry details
• SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (noun)
Meaning:
Originates in the thoracic regions of the spinal cord; opposes physiological effects of the parasympathetic: reduces digestive secretions; speeds the heart; contracts blood vessels
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Hypernyms ("sympathetic nervous system" is a kind of...):
nervous system; systema nervosum (the sensory and control apparatus consisting of a network of nerve cells)
Meronyms (parts of "sympathetic nervous system"):
splanchnic nerve (any of several nerves of the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system that innervate viscera and blood vessels)
abdominal nerve plexus; coeliac plexus; plexus celiacus; solar plexus (a large plexus of sympathetic nerves in the abdomen behind the stomach)
alpha receptor; alpha-adrenergic receptor; alpha-adrenoceptor (receptors postulated to exist on nerve cell membranes of the sympathetic nervous system in order to explain the specificity of certain agents that affect only some sympathetic activities (such as vasoconstriction and relaxation of intestinal muscles and contraction of smooth muscles))
beta receptor; beta-adrenergic receptor; beta-adrenoceptor (receptors postulated to exist on nerve cell membranes of the sympathetic nervous system in order to explain the specificity of certain agents that affect only some sympathetic activities (such as vasodilation and increased heart beat))
Holonyms ("sympathetic nervous system" is a part of...):
ANS; autonomic nervous system (the part of the nervous system of vertebrates that controls involuntary actions of the smooth muscles and heart and glands)
