sympathetic nervous system

noun

Definition of sympathetic nervous system

: the part of the autonomic nervous system that contains chiefly adrenergic fibers and tends to depress secretion, decrease the tone and contractility of smooth muscle, and increase heart rate — compare parasympathetic nervous system

Examples of sympathetic nervous system in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web According to the Cleveland Clinic, stellate ganglion block (SGB) is an injection of medication into the stellate ganglion, a part of the sympathetic nervous system that is located in the neck, on either side of the voice box. — Serena Coady, SELF, 15 Apr. 2022 During the day, the sympathetic nervous system regulates different functions that help the body prepare for activity and governs our body’s response to stress. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 28 Mar. 2022 The autonomic nervous system, which regulates things like heart rate, pupil dilation, body temperature, and digestion, can be split into two categories: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. — Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 28 Mar. 2022 Every time a person stops breathing for a few seconds, the body's sympathetic nervous system goes into action and raises blood pressure. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 17 Feb. 2022 Every time a person stops breathing for a few seconds, the body's sympathetic nervous system goes into action and raises blood pressure. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 17 Feb. 2022 Moodiness Overtraining can lead to a decrease in hormone production, specifically the hormone catecholamine, which can influence the sympathetic nervous system. — Jeff Gaudette, Outside Online, 21 Jan. 2019 Every time a person stops breathing for a few seconds, the body's sympathetic nervous system goes into action and raises blood pressure. — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 17 Feb. 2022 When the sympathetic nervous system prepares us to deal with an emergency—stopping the torture, for example—nose temperature decreases. — Jessica Wapner, The New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sympathetic nervous system.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Apr 2022

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“Sympathetic nervous system.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sympathetic%20nervous%20system. Accessed 23 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for sympathetic nervous system

sympathetic nervous system

noun

Medical Definition of sympathetic nervous system

: the part of the autonomic nervous system that is concerned especially with preparing the body to react to situations of stress or emergency, that contains chiefly adrenergic fibers and tends to depress secretion, decrease the tone and contractility of smooth muscle, increase heart rate, and that consists essentially of preganglionic fibers arising in the thoracic and upper lumbar parts of the spinal cord and passing through delicate white rami communicantes to ganglia located in a pair of sympathetic chains situated one on each side of the spinal column or to more peripheral ganglia or ganglionated plexuses and postganglionic fibers passing typically through gray rami communicantes to spinal nerves with which they are distributed to various end organs

— called also sympathetic system

— compare parasympathetic nervous system