Meaning & use
autonomic nervous system
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Meaning
nounsingularbiology
The network of nerves that runs organs such as the heart, lungs and gut automatically, without you having to decide.
Grammar: Takes the: the autonomic nervous system.
Patterns
- the autonomic nervous system controls something
Your autonomic nervous system keeps your heart beating while you sleep.
Fear sets off the autonomic nervous system, so your pulse speeds up.
Doctors tested her autonomic nervous system to find the cause of her fainting.
Common combinations
- sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system
- The sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system prepares the body for danger.
- activate the autonomic nervous system
- Cold water can activate the autonomic nervous system.
- disorder of the autonomic nervous system
- A disorder of the autonomic nervous system may cause dizziness.
- calm the autonomic nervous system
- Slow breathing helps calm the autonomic nervous system.
Synonyms and how they differ
- involuntary nervous system
- Involuntary nervous system is an older descriptive name and rarely used in modern medicine.
- visceral nervous system
- Visceral nervous system stresses the internal organs it serves and is mostly found in older texts.
Opposites
Word family
- autonomic adjective
- acting automatically, outside conscious control
- autonomy noun
- self-governing; the root idea behind the word
- parasympathetic adjective
- relating to the calming branch of the system
- sympathetic adjective
- relating to the branch that triggers fight or flight
Commonly confused: autonomic nervous system or autonomous?
autonomic nervous system vs autonomous
Autonomous means self-governing, such as an autonomous car; autonomic refers to automatic body functions.
Practice
Which body process is mainly controlled by the autonomic nervous system?
Choose one answer.
Digestion happens without conscious effort. The other options are voluntary movements.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “autonomic nervous system”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.