Description: This Canine Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) web site focuses on visceral efferent nerve pathways that innervate smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands in the dog. The phrase Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) can be used in three contexts: 1 ANS refers to Visceral Efferent (VE) innervation of viscera, i.e., the two-neuron peripheral pathway from the central nervous system to visceral organs.   This is the original anatomical definition and it is a major focus of this web site, i.e., identifying VE pathways to viscera located in different regions of the body; 2 ANS refers to General Visceral Afferent (GVA) as well as Visceral Efferent (VE) peripheral innervation of viscera and to visceral reflexes.   Visceral efferent and afferent axons both use the same peripheral nerve pathways, and both are necessary for visceral organ function.   In this web site, visceral reflexes are included under Physiological Features; 3 ANS refers to visceral peripheral innervation and reflexes plus selected brain components that influence viscera, such as hypothalamus.   Brain control of visceral organs is less thoroughly understood than peripheral innervation of viscera.   It is presented only superficially in this web site.   this web site is devided into General ANS Features; Sympathetic Division; Parasympathetic Division; Trace Pathways and Physiological Features.

Comments & References: Please see http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/ans for more information on this web site and http://vanat.cvm.umn.edu/SiteMap.html for information on other web-based instructional software.   Please note that pathway sections are completed, physiology sections are still under development.   Also note that this web site implements Dynamic HTML requiring a recent browser and animations requiring FLASH Player plug-in version 9.0 or later.

Computer type: Macintosh, IBM

Price: Free of charge