Parasympathetic Nervous System – Gastrointestinal System

00:00 Okay, let’s go deeper into the parasympathetic nervous system.

00:05 Because the gut is a little bit different in that it has both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system and one that we haven’t probably talked about much yet and that’s called the enteric nervous system.

00:18 Okay. So let’s first go with the parasympathetic.

00:21 When you think parasympathetic nervous system, you want to think of relaxing and digesting.

00:28 You’re going to increase secretions, and you’re going to increase motility, you’re going to decrease the constriction of various sphincters and what sphincters do is allow for food stuff to be held at certain points.

00:43 So if you decrease their constriction, you’re allowing them to move from one spot to another.

00:47 And finally, you increase blood flow.

00:52 If we look at the anatomy here, you’ll notice that most of the parasympathetic nervous system is either involved with the brain stem such as cranial nerves number VII, IX, and X.

01:04 You’ll also have some sacral nerves, that plexus very close to the particular nerve that is involved for the small or large intestine and sometimes even the stomach.