Autonomic Nervous System (Involuntary Nervous System)
The part of the nervous system that controls muscles of internal organs (such as the heart) and glands. One part of the autonomic nervous system helps the body rest, relax, and digest food and another part helps a person fight or take flight in an emergency.
Part of: Nervous System
About the Involuntary Nervous System
The involuntary nervous system (vegetative or autonomic nervous system) regulates the processes in the body that we cannot consciously influence. It is constantly active, regulating things such as breathing, heart beat and metabolic processes. It does this by receiving signals from the brain and passing them on to the body. It can also send signals in the other direction — from the body to the brain — providing your brain with information about how full your bladder is or how quickly your heart is beating, for example.
The involuntary nervous system can react quickly to changes, altering processes in the body to adapt. For instance, if your body gets too hot, your involuntary nervous system increases the blood circulation to your skin and makes you sweat more to cool your body down again.
Both the central and peripheral nervous systems have voluntary and involuntary parts. However, whereas these two parts are closely linked in the central nervous system, they are usually separate in other areas of the body.
The involuntary nervous system is made up of three parts:
The sympathetic nervous system The parasympathetic nervous system The enteric (gastrointestinal) nervous system…