What does the somatic nervous system do? Why is a system like this useful to organisms?

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What Is the Somatic Nervous System?

The somatic nervous system plays a vital office in initiating and decision-making the movements of your body. The system is responsible for nigh all voluntary muscle movements, as well as for processing sensory information that arrives via external stimuli, including hearing, bear on, and sight.

How exactly does this complex system piece of work? Let'southward start by taking a closer await at the central parts of the somatic nervous system.

Somatic vs. Autonomic Nervous Systems

The somatic and autonomic nervous systems are both part of the peripheral nervous system, which allows the brain and spinal string to receive and send data to other areas of the torso. However, they have different functions.

The autonomic nervous system regulates a multifariousness of involuntary body processes that take identify, including heartbeat, claret flow, animate, body temperature, and emotion response.

The primary function of the somatic nervous system is to connect the central nervous organization to the trunk'due south muscles to control voluntary movements and reflex arcs.

For case, imagine that you are out for a jog in the park one brisk winter morning. As you run, you spot a patch of slick ice on the path ahead. Your visual organization perceives the icy patch and relays this information to your brain. Your brain then sends signals to engage your muscles to accept activeness.

Your somatic system allows you to plough your torso and movement to a different part of the path, successfully avoiding the icy patch and preventing a possibly dangerous fall on the difficult pavement.

Parts of the Somatic Nervous Organization

The term somatic is fatigued from the Greek word soma, which means "body," which is appropriate considering it is this organization that transmits information dorsum and forth between the key nervous arrangement (CNS) and the rest of the trunk.

The somatic nervous organization contains 2 major types of neurons (nerve cells):

• Sensory neurons, also known as afferent neurons, are responsible for carrying information from the body to the CNS.
• Motor neurons, too known as efferent neurons, are responsible for carrying data from the brain and spinal cord to muscle fibers throughout the body.

The neurons that make upward the somatic nervous system projection outwards from the CNS and connect direct to the muscles of the trunk, and carry signals from muscles and sensory organs dorsum to the key nervous system.

The torso of the neuron is located in the CNS, and the axon (a portion of the neuron that carries nerve impulses away from the prison cell body) then projects and terminates in the skin, sensory organs, or muscles.

Reflex Arcs

In addition to decision-making voluntary muscle movements, the somatic nervous organisation is also associated with involuntary movements known every bit reflexes (or reflex actions), which are controlled by a neural pathway known as a reflex arc.

Reflex arcs include sensory fretfulness that carry signals to the spinal cord, oftentimes connect with interneurons at that place, and and then immediately transmit signals down the motor neurons to the muscles that triggered the reflex.

During a reflex, muscles move involuntarily without input from the brain. This occurs when a nerve pathway connects directly to the spinal cord.

Examples of reflex actions include:

• Jerking your hand back after accidentally touching a hot pan
• Involuntary jerking when your md taps on your knee joint

You don't have to remember about doing these things.

Reflex arcs that impact the organs are called autonomic reflex arcs, while those that affect the muscles are referred to as somatic reflex arcs.

Diseases of the Somatic Nervous System

Somatic nervous system diseases are those that impact the peripheral nerves that are exterior of the brain and spinal cord. Diseases that affect the peripheral nervus fibers of the somatic nervous system can crusade what is known every bit peripheral neuropathy. This leads to nerve damage that causes numbness, weakness, and pain, often in the easily and feet.

The causes of impairment to the peripheral fretfulness found in the somatic organization can include conditions present from birth as well as acquired conditions.

Diabetes is ane of the most common causes of peripheral neuropathy, but it may also exist caused past autoimmune weather condition, infectious diseases, and trauma.

Other types of somatic nervous system diseases include:

• Brachial plexus neuropathies
• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Myasthenia gravis
• Nerve pinch syndromes
• Trigeminal neuralgia

Preventing Peripheral Neuropathy

While diseases that affect the somatic nervous system are non always preventable, there are lifestyle changes you can brand that may help forestall peripheral neuropathy.

Some strategies that may help include:

• Fugitive booze
• Correcting vitamin deficiencies
• Eating a healthy nutrition
• Getting regular exercise
• Maintaining a good for you weight
• Quitting smoking

It is besides essential to care for chronic health atmospheric condition such as diabetes, which may play a role in the onset of peripheral neuropathy.

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Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial procedure to larn more than nearly how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

1. Cuevas J. The somatic nervous system. In:Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences. Elsevier; 2015:B9780128012383054000. doi:ten.1016/B978-0-12-801238-three.05364-ii

2. Barrett KE, Barman SM, Boitano S et al. Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology 25th Edition. McGraw Loma Professional; 2015.

3. Dorland. Dorland'south Illustrated Medical Dictionary Due east-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences; 2011.

4. Cleveland Clinic. Neuropathy (peripheral neuropathy).

5. Akinrodoye MA, Lui F. Neuroanatomy, somatic nervous system. StatPearls [Cyberspace]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.

6. Cleveland Clinic. Neuropathy (peripheral neuropathy): Prevention.

Boosted Reading

• Somatic nervous organization. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. Merck & Co., Inc; 2011.

• Ganong, W. F.Review of Medical Physiology. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing; 2015.

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Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-somatic-nervous-system-2795866

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