Anatom3DSympathetic division
Pars sympathica · Sympatikus
Nervous system
Looks like
Chains of nerve ganglia beside the spine from the chest to the lower back, with nerves running to every organ.
What it does
Prepares the body for action — faster heart, wider airways, higher blood pressure, less gut activity.
Keeping it well
Stress keeps it switched on; sleep, exercise and slow breathing damp it down. Fainting on standing may mean it is failing.
Related conditions
- Amyloidosis (AL and ATTR)
- Botulism
- Breathing pattern disorder
- Chickenpox (varicella)
- Chronic neuropathic pain
- Chronic pain syndrome
- Fainting (syncope)
- Fibromyalgia
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
- Hyperhidrosis
- Long COVID (post-viral syndrome)
- Lyme disease
- ME/chronic fatigue syndrome
- Myasthenia gravis
- Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
- Panic disorder
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Rabies
- Restless legs syndrome
- Shingles (herpes zoster)
- Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy
- Tetanus
- Vitamin B1, C and other deficiencies