peripheral nervous system

Also known as PNS

part of the nervous system

AI overview

The peripheral nervous system is the part of your nervous system that connects your brain and spinal cord to the rest of your body, allowing you to sense your surroundings and control your movements. It matters because without it, your brain couldn't receive information from your senses or send commands to your muscles and organs.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

548,082 papers

Peripheral Nervous System Involvement.ReviewHematology/oncology clinics of North America · 2020Thaisetthawatkul P, Dyck PJBDOI: 10.1016/j.hoc.2020.07.004
Peripheral nervous system involvement in Q fever.ReviewActa neurologica Belgica · 2022Martínez-Dubarbie F, Rollán-Martínez-Herrera MDOI: 10.1007/s13760-021-01791-2
Gross anatomy and development of the peripheral nervous system.ReviewHandbook of clinical neurology · 2013Catala M, Kubis NDOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-52902-2.00003-5
Peripheral nervous system manifestations of rheumatological diseases.ReviewJournal of the neurological sciences · 2021Gwathmey KG, Satkowiak KDOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.117421
Bidirectional crosstalk between the peripheral nervous system and lymphoid tissues/organs.ReviewFrontiers in immunology · 2023Boahen A, Hu D, Adams MJ et al.DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1254054
Infections of the Peripheral Nervous System.ReviewContinuum (Minneapolis, Minn.) · 2021LoRusso SDOI: 10.1212/CON.0000000000000981
Comparative Pathology of the Peripheral Nervous System.ReviewVeterinary pathology · 2021Lanigan LG, Russell DS, Woolard KD et al.DOI: 10.1177/0300985820959231
Neurovascular Interactions in the Nervous System.ReviewAnnual review of cell and developmental biology · 2019Segarra M, Aburto MR, Hefendehl J et al.DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100818-125142

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Peripheral nervous system

Sources (9)

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~10 min read

Article

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two components that make up the nervous system of bilateral animals, with the other part being the central nervous system (CNS). The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia, which lie outside the brain and the spinal cord. The main function of the PNS is to connect the CNS to the limbs and organs, essentially serving as a relay between the brain and spinal cord and the rest of the body. Unlike the CNS, the PNS is not protected by the vertebral column and skull, which protect the CNS from physical injury or by the blood–brain barrier, which protects the CNS from blood-borne pathogens and toxins, leaving the PNS more vulnerable than the CNS.

The peripheral nervous system can be divided into a somatic division and an autonomic division. Each of these can further be differentiated into a sensory and a motor sector. In the somatic nervous system, the cranial nerves are part of the PNS with the exceptions of the olfactory nerve and epithelia and the optic nerve (cranial nerve II) along with the retina, which are considered parts of the central nervous system based on developmental origin. The second cranial nerve is not a true peripheral nerve but a tract of the diencephalon. Cranial nerve ganglia, as with all ganglia, are part of the PNS. The autonomic nervous system exerts involuntary control over smooth muscle and glands.