A reflex pathway, or a reflex arc, is a neural pathway that is involved in the activation of a reflex. Reflexes are reactions that respond to stimuli. They usually happen without the sensory neurons having to pass directly through the brain. Therefore, reflexes are called involuntary reactions since they happen without a command. This allows the reflex action to occur quickly because the electrical signal can be sent to the spinal cord immediately without needing to go through the brain. The brain receives sensory input as the action occurs, but not before. The human body has lots of reflex pathways. However, if a disruption occurs in these pathways, the person most likely has a certain kind of neurological disorder that will make the person …show more content…
This arc belongs to the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is the part of the peripheral nervous system that is responsible for controlling involuntary body functions. This system helps us maintain a steady heartbeat while we are sleeping, and anything else that is necessary to keep us alive during low levels of consciousness. This system affects the body functions that are not consciously managed, such as breathing, digestion, heart rate, pupillary dilation, and urination. However, there are some ANS actions that we are able to control with our mind to a certain extent, such as swallowing.
The ANS is positioned just below the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem. The medulla is responsible for many major functions, such as respiration, cardiac regulation, vasomotor activity, and reflex actions; which include coughing, sneezing, vomiting, and swallowing. The input is received by the hypothalamus, which is located right above the
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This reaction is a reflex - it was not a direct command. However, if a person’s reflex pathway was or is disrupted in some way, he or she might not be able to transmit the information to his or her brain fast enough to avoid getting burned, or they might not even be able to sense the heat until it is too late. Also, there are several reflex reactions that respond to instability, such as the knee jerk. The knee jerk is a sudden kicking movement made when something or someone roughly taps on the patellar tendon, which is located right below the kneecap. The tap causes a slight stretch in the quadriceps, which is the front of the upper leg. This causes the muscles to contract in reaction, and therefore straighten the leg through a kicking motion. Absence of the reaction indicates that the central nervous system may be damaged. Doctors also use the knee jerk reflex to help in recognizing thyroid disease. The knee jerk, also known as the patellar reflex, is one of the many forms of a spinal reflex. A spinal reflex is sought to be important due to its automatic responses to stimuli that require no thinking activity and is a form of protecting
...rvous system to the immunity supporting parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system is the “relaxation” part of our autonomic nervous system, which controls all of our body’s involuntary functions.
Firstly, there is various of sensing activities as in seeing and hearing as in a sense of understanding of what is seen and heard. Secondly the sense of feeling in numerous parts of the body from the head to the toes. The ability to recall past events, the sophisticated emotions and the thinking process. The cerebellum acts as a physiological microcomputer which intercepts various sensory and motor nerves to smooth out what would otherwise be jerky muscle motions. The medulla controls the elementary functions responsible for life, such as breathing, cardiac rate and kidney functions. The medulla contains numerous of timing mechanisms as well as other interconnections that control swallowing and salivations.
The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system, being split into sympathetic pathways, which prepare the body for action and parasympathetic pathways which prepare the body for rest. This regulates the functions of the body and some of the muscles automatically.
The Autonomic Nervous System is responsible for the functions of the body that are not thought about to control. When this system dysfunctions, it can cause havoc on the human body. One example of this would be Dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is a rare but serious disease that affects the autonomic nervous system, has many symptoms, and offers few treatment options.
This is when pressure is applied to the hands or feet by a thumb technique with no lotion. There are different points on the feet are related to different parts of the body. It has been shown that reflexology helps with pain and stiffness in Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers. The patients also claim that due to reflexology they have used less painkillers and generally feel healthier.
well after its author's death. In this essay, he proposed a mechanism for automatic reaction in response to external events. According to his proposal, external motions affect the peripheral ends of the nerve fibrils, which in turn displace the central ends. As the central ends are displaced, the pattern of interfibrillar space is rearranged and the flow of animal spirits is thereby directed into the appropriate nerves. This is the reason he has been credited with the founding of the reflex theory.
Reflexology is the theory that the human body can be healed from disease or imbalance through pressure to specific points on the hands, feet, and ears (http://www.doubleclickd.com/reflexology.html). This alternative form of healing is doubted by many, although there are studies that support its theory.
Initial Reflective Essay When I first thought of what I wanted to do with my life after college, the first thing I thought of was helping people. The next step in deciding what I wanted to do with my life was to examine how I could accomplish this goal. I started pondering and I was thinking about how much I love to take care of my body. Health care and personal hygiene has always been an important factor in my life. So I decided to major in Health Sciences.
This is important for feeding. The rooting reflex is a reflex that occurs when the babies mouth is stroked. The baby will turn around look for the nipple and begin to make sucking motions. The grasping reflex occurs when something is placed in the infants hand or thier palm is stroked the infants hand closes. At this age their grip is very strong. When the sole of their feet is placed on a surface they will attempt to walk even though they might not be able to support their own weight yet this is the stepping reflex. The startle reflex is an involuntary movement of the babies body, arms and legs when it is startled by a loud noise or sudden
Reflexes are automatic responses that children cannot control. They are innate and automatic. A few of the reflexes infants have are:
Over the course of the semester, I feel that I have grown as a writer in many ways. When I came into the class, there were skills I had that I already excelled at. During my time in class, I have come to improve on those skills even more. Before I took this class I didn’t even realise what I was good at. This is the first class where I felt I received feedback on my writing that helped me to actually review my work in see what areas I lacked in and where I succeeded. Some of the skills I had shocked me as I didn’t think I had those capabilities in me.
Air pressure in the lungs rises to just above atmospheric pressure, therefore the air is expelled. Regulation of breathing is controlled by the respiratory centre in the the hind brain. The respiratory centre has three areas called the medullary rhythmic area, the apneustic area and the pneumotaxic. area. The sand is a sand.
Since the brain and the nervous systems are in need of each other to perform their functions it is important to look at the brain and all of it 's features. The brain is the control center that process the majority of all the bodies functions. The spinal cord is responsible for certain simple muscle reflexes but the brain process both conscious and unconscious.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - eMedicineHealth.com - 2013. The. Anatomy of the Central Nervous System. Pictures and Information on eMedicineHealth.com.
Nervous system is one of the major organ systems that is responsible for the coordination of biological activities inside the body through cells called neurons. It is composed of the brain and spinal cord which are surrounded by protective layers of bone and membrane tissues called meninges. There are two major divisions in the nervous system; first one is the central nervous system (CNS) and the other being the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is composed of the brain, spinal cord, and retina while the PNS includes the sensory neurons, ganglia, and connecting neurons. The nervous system applies control using nerves; almost as if sending a message by a telephone. The nervous system is fast due to its electrical nature. The nerve cells in this system are connected with each other in a complex manner where the neural pathways would be possible. Neural