07. Drugs and the Autonomic Nervous System
Sheila Doggrell
Discipline of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Queensland University of Technology, Gardens Point, GPO Box 2434, QLD 4001, Australia
Phone +61 7 38705741 Fax +61 7 31381534 Email sheila.doggrell@qut.edu.au
Reviewer required
Key words: peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, sympathetic nervous system, noradrenaline, adrenaline, ephedrine, phenylephrine, dopamine, dobutamine, salbutamol, salmeterol, parasympathetic nervous system, pilocarpine, atropine, hyoscine, homatropine, ipratropium, oxybutynin
7.1. Drugs and the sympathetic nervous system
7.1.1 The sympathetic nervous system
7.1.2 Effects of the sympathetic nervous system
7.1.3 Sympathomimetics
7.1.4 Selective α1-adrenoceptor antagonists
7.1.5 β-adrenoceptor antagonists
7.2 Drugs and the parasympathetic nervous system
7.2.1 The parasympathetic nervous system
7.2.2 Effects of the parasympathetic nervous system
7.1.3 Muscarinic agonists
7.1.4 Antimuscarinic agents
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS
The nervous systems can initially be divided up into the central and peripheral nervous systems. The central nervous system is the brain and spinal cord and drugs that modify the central nervous system are considered as a subject in systematic pharmacology (therapeutics) section. Everything neural, other that the central nervous system, can be considered peripheral nervous systems. The peripheral nervous systems can be divided into the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system, which is the system that performs without your conscious help, and the somatic or voluntary nervous system, which you can consciously control (Figure 7.1). In addition the autonomic nervous system is divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Figure 7.1 Nervous systems (Copyright QUT, Sheila Doggrell)
This eChapter sequentially considers drugs and the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is discussed in eChapter 8.