Autonomous Reflex Arc (Nursing)

00:00 Autonomic functions such as heart rate and the force of ventricular contraction, blood pressure, and blood vessel diameter are controlled by autonomic reflexes.

00:13 These occur when nerve impulses pass through an autonomic reflex arc.

00:20 The reflex arc is going to be composed of several different structures.

00:25 First, the receptor such as the baroreceptors on the blood vessels are going to receive a certain signal or stimuli.

00:34 The baroreceptors send information or receive information about the stretch of a blood vessel.

00:41 The second component of the reflex arc is the sensory neuron.

00:46 This neuron will send sensory information from the viscera to the central nervous system.

00:54 The third part of the autonomic reflex arc is going to be located in the lateral horn of the gray matter of the spinal cord.

01:03 This is the integrating center.

01:06 This is the portion where the decision-making process will happen.

01:11 After the decision is made, a motor neuron will take that decision and output that information toward the effector.

01:22 And then finally, the effector or the visceral organ is going to receive the instructions and act accordingly.

01:31 Recall, feedback loops are an example of a reflex arc.