The parasympathetic nervous system is one of the two divisions of the vertebrate autonomic nervous system. Parasympathetic nerves emerge cranially as pre ganglionic fibers from oculomotor, facial, glossopharyngeal and vagus and from the sacral region of the spinal cord. Most neurons are cholinergic and responses are mediated by muscarinic receptors. The parasympathetic system innervates, for example: salivary glands, thoracic and abdominal viscera, bladder and genitalia[GO].
Comment:
[homology-note] "In mammals, the autonomic nervous system is divided into two contrasting, antagonistic systems of control over visceral activity: the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system (reference 1); In general, the teleosts may be considered phylogenetically the first class of vertebrates in which the heart is regulated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic neural pathways (reference 2).[well established][VHOG]" xsd:string {date_retrieved="2012-09-17", external_class="VHOG:0000755", ontology="VHOG", source="ISBN:978-0072528305 Kardong KV, Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution (2006) p.634, DOI:10.1016/S0306-4530(98)00057-2 Porges SW, Love: an emergent property of the mammalian autonomic nervous system. Psychoneuroendocrinology (1998)", source="http://bgee.unil.ch/"}
Synonyms:
exact_synonym:
PNS - parasympathetic; parasympathetic part of autonomic division of nervous system
related_synonym:
pars parasympathica divisionis autonomici systematis nervosi