Sacral splanchnic nerves
| Nerve: Sacral splanchnic nerves | |
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| Lower half of right sympathetic cord. (Sacral splanchnic nerves not pictured, but upper sacral ganglion and hypogastric plexus are labeled at bottom left.) | |
| Latin | nervi splanchnici sacrales |
| From | sacral ganglia |
Sacral splanchnic nerves are splanchnic nerves that connect the inferior hypogastric plexus to the sympathetic trunk in the pelvis.
Structure
The sacral sympathetic nerves arise from the sacral part of the sympathetic trunk, emerging anteriorly from the ganglia. They travel to their corresponding side's inferior hypogastric plexus, where the preganglionic nerve fibers synapse with the postganglionic sympathetic nervefibers, that ascend to the superior hypogastric plexus, moves on to the aortic plexus and the inferior mesenteric plexus, where they are distributed to the canalis analis. From the inferior hypogastric plexus, they also innervate pelvic organs and vessels.
The sacral sympathetic nerves contain a mix of preganglionic and postganglionic sympathetic fibers, but mostly postganglionic. They also contain visceral afferent fibers. They are found in the same region as the pelvic splanchnic nerves, which arise from the sacral spinal nerves to provide parasympathetic fibers to the inferior hypogastric plexus.
See also
External links
- Sacral+splanchnic+nerves at eMedicine Dictionary
- 44:11-0100 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "The Male Pelvis: The Posterolateral Pelvic Wall"
- Autonomics of the Pelvis - Page 5 of 12 anatomy module at med.umich.edu
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