Write 6 pages with APA style on Autonomic Regulation of the Cardiovascular System. The different parts of the autonomic nervous system aim to control the cardiovascular system in a variety of different ways. Since the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, these two divisions perform different functions for the heart. The sympathetic nervous system functions unconsciously, without any thought given. In this case, the SNS will be responsible for increasing the heart rate or increasing heart output under certain circumstances, without any intervention on the part of the individual. The parasympathetic nervous system aims to relax the muscles generally, which means that it will slow down the heart rate, according to a variety of circumstances (Olivera, n.p, 2006). However, the different ways that the cardiovascular system is controlled, through effective autonomic regulation needs discussion. It involves the use of a range of different bodily muscles, arteries and receptors among others to monitor the cardiovascular system in a variety of different circumstances. While it has been stated above that the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) seek to control the flow of blood, the way for doing that is through blood volume and arterial pressure. This tends to be maintained by the stretch receptors in the heart and arteries. Nerve traffic is received from these receptors, which trigger the working of the divisions of the ANS. The ANS nerves adjust the heart rate accordingly, the arterial resistance, as well as the venous tone. The cardiac output, along with systemic vascular resistance (SVR) is monitored in such a way that the arterial pressure is controlled (Rhoades, Bell, pp.311, 1995). The autonomic nervous system is definitely connected to the brain and the spinal cord for the maintenance of its functions. The cardiovascular system will be controlled, through a proper process, which tends to involve the firing of postganglionic parasympathetic and sympathetic neurons. This firing occurs, because of the pre-ganglionic neurons present in the brain (for parasympathetic nervous system) and spinal cord (for both the divisions of the ANS). Particular neurons present in the cardiovascular system send a message to these neurons in the brain and the spinal cord, and along with a range of other environmental factors, the cardiovascular system adjusts according to the brain signals (Rhoades, Bell, pp.311-312, 1995). However, now since the paper has established the grounding of the working of the autonomic system to influence the cardiovascular system, it is essential to go into detail about the entire process. There cannot be an enough emphasis on the idea that the cardiovascular system requires the regulation of precise reflex actions, so that the blood supply, which contains oxygen that is necessary for any human body can be supplied to different body tissues, under different types of circumstances. This homeostatic process considers a variety of mechanical (barosensory) information about pressure in the arterial system, and chemical (chemosensory) information about the amount of oxygen and carbon-dioxide present in the blood. As stated above, the sympathetic and parasympathetic activity tends to be verified upon the information, provided by these sensors.
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