Fight or Flight: The Sympathetic Nervous System in Action - Essay Sample

Introduction

The sympathetic nervous system is highly utilized in the face of imminent danger. It prepares our body for two actions, 'fight or flight,' these responses are aimed at giving us a physical advantage. These responses lead to several things occurring within the body such as; increased heartbeat and dilation of vessels which ensures sufficient supply of blood to the muscles, energy conservation by lowering the rates of unnecessary processes and dilation of pupils to take in a large amount of lights to improve vision (Karemaker, 2017).

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The parasympathetic nervous system, on the other hand, works opposite of the sympathetic nervous system, hence leads to a condition known as a body at rest. It is a condition when the main activities occurring within the body are aimed at generating energy and conservation of this energy. The responses involved include slowed heartbeat rate, increased digestion and reduction in the diameter of the pupils (Karemaker, 2017).

Other contrasts apart from the differences in actions are: The pre-ganglionic neurons in the Sympathetic Nervous System are very short hence synapses occur in a chain, proximate to the spinal cord, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system has long pre-ganglionic neurons. Another difference is that the parasympathetic nervous system has myelinated pre-ganglionic neurons, which conducts charges faster than unmyelinated post-ganglionic neurons, hence works faster than the sympathetic nervous system (Karemaker, 2017). Another significant difference is in the neurotransmitter where parasympathetic nervous system utilizes Acetyl Choline while the sympathetic nervous system uses Noradrenaline.

Extradural Hematoma Vs Subdural Hematoma

Both subdural and extradural hematoma is caused by head injuries in case of an accident. In extradural hematoma, the tearing of the middle meningeal artery from temporal skull fracture leads to accumulation of blood between the skull and Dura matter. Extradural hematoma mainly occurs in persons under the age of 45 years. The person may appear fine for a while but 2-3 hours later, experiences drowsiness, loss of consciousness and vomiting. Another type of extradural hematoma occurs at the back of the brain, and this is the point next to the brain stem, which controls heartbeat, breathing and staying awake. Collection of blood, at this point, increases pressure on the brain stem, which may lead to a coma if not treated immediately. Extradural hematoma is a neurosurgical emergency case since injury occurs on the artery leading blood oozing out at a fast rate due to the high pressure. CT scans show a convex-shaped image that crosses the mid-line (Yadav, Parihar, Namdev, & Bajaj, 2016).

Subdural hematoma, on the other hand, occurs to people over the age of 45 years due to the shrinking of the brain, leaving a space between the brain and skull. When one suffers an accident, brain contusions occur, leading to stretching of veins and eventual tearing. Since the veins are not under high pressure, the blood oozes out slowly into the space left by the shrinking brain, and this takes some time even days for symptoms to occur (Yadav et al., 2016). Signs include headache and alteration in the mental condition. CT scan images show a crescent-shaped, convex hyper-density that does not close the mid-line.

Congenital Insensitivity to Pain

Suffering from congenital insensitivity to pain is a disadvantage to the patient. People suffering from this disorder are unable to perceive physical pain in their entire body. It causes such patients to fail to know when they get physically injured, which reduces their life expectancy (McCance & Huether, 2018).

Bacterial Vs. Viral Meningitis

A procalcitonin blood test can be carried out by the physician to differentiate a patient suffering from bacterial or viral meningitis. Through this test, the physician can estimate the level of procalcitonin production. High levels are indicative of bacterial infection, while low levels would mean viral infection. Blood tests coupled to gram staining are also possible to visualize the microorganisms under a light microscope.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a condition that can be triggered by environmental, physiological and even genetic factors. If Susan is from a family that suffers from the disorder, then there is a chance that she might also suffer from schizophrenia. However, if her brother developed the disease from physical or environmental factors, then she has a lower risk of developing the disorder (Flint & Munafo, 2014).

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis disease is more prevalent in families that have a family history of the disorder. The condition is also thought of as an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its cells. People with a medical history of the disease are at a higher risk than those who have never suffered the illness. As a result, most scientist hypothesis the disease as more of genetically and immune factor caused as opposed to causative agents (McCance & Huether, 2018).

The Pathophysiologic Relationship Between Cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension

Cirrhosis causes liver damage. Portal hypertension is a complication of the liver resulting from pathological conditions such as cirrhosis which causes the resistance of the blood flowing to the liver. Cirrhosis causes increased intrahepatic vascular resistance as a result of the structural changes resulting from fibrosis. As a result, hypertension develops due to the vasodilation of the arteries with subsequent formation of collateral vessels (La Mura, Nicolini, Tosetti, & Primignani, 2015).

Functions of the Accessory Organs of Digestion in the Digestive Process

There are five digestive accessory organs. They include the salivary glands, the tongue, liver gallbladder and the pancreas. The tongue helps during ingestion of food while the salivary gland produces enzymes that breakdown starch to maltose. The primary role of the liver is the production of bile juice that breaks down lipids in the ileum through the emulsification process. When the bile is transported to the duodenum the gallbladder stores it, concentrates it and releases it in the stomach. The pancreas produces pancreatic juice, which is enriched with digestive enzymes and bicarbonate ions. These inactive enzymes produced are responsible for the breakdown of proteins (Johnstone, Hendry, Farley, & McLafferty, 2014)

Causes of Constipation

Constipation is a condition that affects people of all ages. It means that there is an irregularity in the way one passes stool or can mean that one does not completely empty their bowels. In the event of constipation, the colon absorbs too much water causing the stool to be hard. Constipation majorly results from inadequate uptake of fiber, prolonging or assuming the urge to pass out stool, not taking sufficient amounts of water or in the case of side effects resulting from certain types of medication. On other cases, constipation is caused by anxiety and depression (Costilla, & Foxx-Orenstein, 2014).

References

Costilla, V. C., & Foxx-Orenstein, A. E. (2014). Constipation: understanding mechanisms and management. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 30(1), 107-115.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cger.2013.10.001

Flint, J., & Munafo, M. (2014). Schizophrenia: genesis of a complex disease. Nature, 511(7510), 412.Retrieved from, https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13645

Johnstone, C., Hendry, C., Farley, A., & McLafferty, E. (2014). The digestive system: part 1. Nursing Standard (2014+), 28(24), 37. DOI:10.7748/ns2014.02.28.24.37.e7395

Karemaker, J. M. (2017). An introduction into autonomic nervous function. Physiological measurement, 38(5), R89. Retrieved from, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6579/aa6782/pdf

La Mura, V., Nicolini, A., Tosetti, G., & Primignani, M. (2015). Cirrhosis and portal hypertension: The importance of risk stratification, the role of hepatic venous pressure gradient measurement. World journal of hepatology, 7(4), 688.Retrieved from, https://www.medigraphic.com/cgi-bin/new/resumenI.cgi?IDARTICULO=64013

McCance, K. L., & Huether, S. E. (2018). Pathophysiology-E-Book: The Biologic Basis for Disease in Adults and Children. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Yadav, Y. R., Parihar, V., Namdev, H., & Bajaj, J. (2016). Chronic subdural hematoma. Asian journal of neurosurgery, 11(4), 330. https://dx.doi.org/10.4103%2F1793-5482.145102