THE PERIPHERAL

NERVOUS SYSTEM
 INTRODUCTION:
• The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of the two main parts of the
nervous system, the other part is the central nervous system (CNS). The
PNS consists of
• The nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal
• Cord. The main function of the PNS is to connect the CNS to the limbs
and organs, essentially serving as a relay between the brain and spinal
cord and the rest of the body.
 PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS)
• Our peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two main parts of your
body’s nervous system. Your PNS feeds information into your brain from
most of your senses. It carries signals that allow you to move your
muscles. Your PNS also delivers signals that your brain uses to control
vital, unconscious processes like your heartbeat and breathing.
 WHAT IS THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS
SYSTEM?
• Our peripheral nervous system (PNS) is that part of
your nervous system that lies outside your brain
and spinal cord. It plays key role in both sending
information from different areas of your body back
to your brain, as well as carrying out commands
from your brain to various parts of your body.
• Some of those signals, like the ones to your heart
and gut, are automatic. Others, like the ones that
control movement, are under your control.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
PERIPHERAL AND CENTRAL NERVOUS
SYSTEMS?
• Nervous system consists of two main parts: your central nervous system
and your peripheral nervous system. Your central nervous system
includes two organs, your brain and spinal cord.
• Our peripheral nervous system is everything else and includes nerves
that travel from your spinal cord and brain to supply your face and the
rest of your body. The term “peripheral” is from the greek word that
means around or outside the center.
 WHAT DOES THE PERIPHERAL
NERVOUS SYSTEM DO?
• Our peripheral nervous system has two main subsystems: autonomic
and somatic.
• Autonomic: these are nervous system processes your brain runs
automatically and without you thinking about them.
• Somatic: these are functions you manage by thinking about them.

Those two subsystems are how your peripheral nervous system does
its three main jobs:
• SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
• This part of the peripheral nervous system that stimulates skeletal muscle
under our conscious control is called the somatic nervous system. Some
activities in the somatic nervous system, such as spinal reflexes, are
involuntary. Spinal reflex are extremely rapid such that they involve the
spinal cord and the PNS but not the brain.
• For example, when you “tell your leg to move, a message travels from your
brain to your spinal cord and through a peripheral nerve to your leg.
• AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
• There is one part of the peripheral nervous system that is not under the
direct control of your conscious mind. This part, called autonomic nervous
system, controls body activities that are involuntary.
 DIVISIONS OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS
SYSTEM
• The nerves of the autonomic nervous system can be further divided into two
groups that have opposite effects on the organs they control. These two divisions
the Parasympathetic Division and Sympathetic Division.
• The parasympathetic division is actually most active under normal conditions.
For example, for instant, you continue to breathe while you are sleeping.

• The sympathetic division dominates in times of physical or emotional stress or

whenever the body requires some action. It controls the “fight-or-flight” response that
you experience when talking in front of an audience or taking a surprise quiz.
For example, when you are frightened, nerves leading to organs such as the
lungs and the heart are activated.
 TYPES OF NERVE SIGNALS

• Sensory: these nerves carry information to your brain and spinal cord. They either
connect directly to your brain through your cranial nerves or carry information to
your spinal nerves, which then feed into your spinal cord. The sensory nerve
connections to your spinal cord are on the back of your spinal cord.
• Motor: these nerves carry command signals from your brain to various parts of
your body. They only carry information away from your brain. The motor nerve
connections are on the front of your spinal cord; meaning, these nerves are for
sending muscle movement commands only.
• Autonomic: these nerves control the automatic functions of the organs and
systems in your body. Your autonomic nerves often involve mixed nerve fibers,
some of which carry commands from your brain to their destination, and others that
carry information about an organ’s function back to your brain.
 HOW DOES THE PERIPHERAL NERVE
SYSTEM HELP WITH OTHER ORGANS?
• Our autonomic nervous system, which is a part of your peripheral nervous
system, helps your brain control all of the vital organs in your body. That also
helps your brain care for itself. An example of this is your brain controlling your
heartbeat, which ensures your heart pumps blood to your body and brain.
Without that blood flow, your brain would die in minutes.
• Our peripheral nervous system also relays nerve signals from those organs to
your brain. Examples include feeling warmth inside of your stomach when you
drink a hot beverage or feeling full after a meal.
 WHERE IS THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS
SYSTEM LOCATED?
• Cranial nerves: there are 12 pairs of nerves that connect directly to your brain,
and 11 of them are part of your peripheral nervous system (the second cranial
nerve, which controls your vision, is part of your central nervous system). These 11
nerves are part of your senses of smell, sound, taste, and the sense of touch you
have in the skin on your head, face and neck. One of the 11, the vagus nerve,
extends down and attaches to all vital organs from your neck to your colon.
• Spinal nerves: these are 31 pairs of nerves that attach to your spine at about the
same level as each segment bone (vertebra) in your spine.
Spinal Nerves Cranial Nerves
 NEURONS
• Neurons are the cells that send and relay signals through your nervous system,
using both electrical and chemical signals. Each neuron consists of:
• Cell body: this is the main part of the cell.
• Axon: this is a long, arm-like part that extends outward from the cell body. At the
end of the axon are several finger-like extensions where the electrical signal in
the neuron becomes a chemical signal. These extensions, known as synapses,
lead to nearby nerve cells.
• Dendrites: these are small branch-like extensions (their name comes from a latin
word that means “tree-like”) on the cell body. Dendrites are the receiving point for
chemical signals from the synapses of other nearby neurons.
• Myelin: this is a thin layer composed of fatty chemical compounds. Myelin
surrounds the axon of many neurons and acts as a protective covering.
 COVERING OF A NEURON:
Each nerve consists of bundles of nerve fibers
each of which is covered with fine connective
tissues, which is;
1. Endoneurium: is a layer of delicate
connective tissue around the myelin sheath
of each myelinated nerve fiber.
2. Perineurium: nerve fibers are bundled
together into groups known as fascicles,
each surrounded by a protective sheath
known as the perineurium.
3. Epineurium: is the outermost layer of dense
irregular connective tissue surrounding a
peripheral nerve.
 BASIC TYPES OF NEURONS

Neurons are divided on the basis of structures and size.

•There are 3 different types of neurons:
⮚ Multipolar neurons: one axon, many dendrites
⮚ Bipolar neurons: one axon, one dendrite
⮚ Pseudo unipolar neurons: one process that branches in two.
1. MULTIPOLAR NEURONS.

These neurons contain a number of dendrites and one axon. They are the most
common type of neurons and they can be found more or less anywhere in the
nervous system.
• For example:
• Pyramidal neurons in the cerebral cortex
• Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum
• Motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord
2. BIPOLAR NEURONS

• Bipolar neurons have only two process that connect to the cell body: one
dendrite and one axon. (This is easy to remember as, generally speaking, the
prefix “bi” refers to the number two, such as in bilingual – two languages)
• Bipolar neurons are only found in specific areas of the nervous system:
• In the retina
• In the nose (receptors of the olfactory epithelium)
3. PSEUDOUNIPOLAR NEURONS

• There is only one process (this gives us the “unipolar part”) that branches into
two (which is why we add “pseudo” at the beginning… it doesn’t look
unipolar). This process is structurally similar to that of an axon, but it can
receive information as well.
• Pseudo unipolar neurons can be found in the spinal ganglions.