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preganglionic vs post ganglionic neurons
- Thread starter yalla22
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yalla22 said:
So what are you getting hung up about? The neurotransmitters? The anatomy? Help us help you...
First of all, are you familiar with ganglia?
In vertebrate anatomy, a ganglion is a tissue mass that contains the dendrites and cell bodies (or "somas") of nerve cells, in most case ones belonging to the peripheral nervous system. Within the central nervous system such a mass is often called a nucleus. An interconnected group of ganglia is called a plexus.
Spinal ganglia contains cell bodies of sensory nerves and autonomic ganglia contains the cell bodies of autonomic nerves.
In the autonomic nervous system, fibers extending from the CNS to the ganglion are known as preganglionic fibers, while those from the ganglion to the effector organ are called postganglionic fibers.
The best way to undestand the concept is to be "fluent" at visualising the anatomy of both types of ganglia, therefore find a good picture and use it as a map while reading the explanations (princeton has a good one)
Hope that helps
In vertebrate anatomy, a ganglion is a tissue mass that contains the dendrites and cell bodies (or "somas") of nerve cells, in most case ones belonging to the peripheral nervous system. Within the central nervous system such a mass is often called a nucleus. An interconnected group of ganglia is called a plexus.
Spinal ganglia contains cell bodies of sensory nerves and autonomic ganglia contains the cell bodies of autonomic nerves.
In the autonomic nervous system, fibers extending from the CNS to the ganglion are known as preganglionic fibers, while those from the ganglion to the effector organ are called postganglionic fibers.
The best way to undestand the concept is to be "fluent" at visualising the anatomy of both types of ganglia, therefore find a good picture and use it as a map while reading the explanations (princeton has a good one)
Hope that helps
