parasympathetic division (coronary plexuses)
Last reviewed 01/2018
The parasympathetic division of the coronary plexuses can be considered in terms of:
- general visceral motor fibres:
- derived from vagus nerve:
- directly via superior and inferior cardiac branches
- indirectly via recurrent laryngeal nerves
- these are preganglionic fibres with their cell bodies in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve
- they pass through the coronary plexus to synapse with ganglia within the heart wall e.g. the ganglia of the sinoatrial node
- stimulation produces negative inotropy, chronotropy and coronary artery vasoconstriction
- general visceral afferent fibres:
- originate in the walls of the carotid body and sinus
- preganglionic fibres have their cell bodies in the inferior vagal ganglion
- centrally synapse with the nucleus of tractus solitarius
- involved with baroreceptor reflexes
sympathetic division (coronary plexuses)