Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Noun: sympathetic nervous system
  1. Originates in the thoracic regions of the spinal cord; opposes physiological effects of the parasympathetic: reduces digestive secretions; speeds the heart; contracts blood vessels

Derived forms: sympathetic nervous systems

Type of: nervous system, systema nervosum

Part of: ANS, autonomic nervous system

Encyclopedia: Sympathetic nervous system