Postganglionic
Postganglionic (pronunciation: post-gang-glee-on-ic) is a term used in neuroscience and anatomy to describe neurons in the autonomic nervous system that have their cell bodies located in ganglia and send their axons to target tissues or organs.
Etymology
The term "postganglionic" is derived from the Latin words "post" meaning "after", and "ganglion" meaning "a mass of nerve tissue". It refers to the neurons that are located after the ganglia in the autonomic nervous system.
Related Terms
- Preganglionic neuron: Neurons that originate in the central nervous system and extend to an autonomic ganglion.
- Autonomic nervous system: The part of the nervous system responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes.
- Ganglion: A structure containing a number of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber.
- Neuron: A specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; a nerve cell.
See Also
References
- Neuroscience textbooks
- Medical dictionaries
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Postganglionic
- Wikipedia's article - Postganglionic
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