sympathetic vs parasympathetic
Definitions
adjective
- (of characters in literature or drama) evoking empathic or sympathetic feelings
- relating to vibrations that occur as a result of vibrations in a nearby body
- of or relating to the sympathetic nervous system
- showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity
- having similar disposition and tastes
Examples
Alaric got a bit annoyed at how long we took to leave becuase of the guinea pigs - I didn't know weather to be sympathetic or laugh when he got narky about it :/
_merit-thermometer_, a sort of _Aeolian-harp-test_; in the flat parts his voice was unimpassioned, but if the gust of genius swept over the wires, his tones rose in intensity, till his own energy of feeling and expression kindled in others a sympathetic impulse, which the dull were forced to feel, whilst his animated recitations threw fresh meaning into the minds of the more discerning.
A stimulant action on the parasympathetic portion of the oculomotor nucleus (third cranial nerve) is responsible for pupillary miosis.
Definitions
noun
- originates in the brain stem and lower part of the spinal cord; opposes physiological effects of the sympathetic nervous system: stimulates digestive secretions; slows the heart; constricts the pupils; dilates blood vessels
adjective
- of or relating to the parasympathetic nervous system
Examples
The toxin also inhibits release of acetylcholine in all parasympathetic and cholinergic postganglionic sympathetic neurones.
Postganglionic parasympathetic nerves mediate both cholinergic contractions and nonadrenergic, noncholinergic relaxations of smooth muscle in the airway.
The constrictor muscle is supplied by the parasympathetic nervous system, and the dilator by the sympathetic nervous system.
