Nervous system

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Nervous system

The nervous system includes the brain, the spinal cord, and all the nerves in the body. Nerves carry information through the spinal cord to the brain about what is happening inside and outside of the body, and the brain processes the information and sends messages back through the nerves that control how muscles and other organs respond.

The nervous system is divided into the brain and the spinal cord (which are together known as the central nervous system) and the nerve cells that lead away from the brain and the spinal cord to the rest of the body (peripheral nervous system). The nervous system controls:

Sight, hearing, taste, smell, and feeling (sensation).
Voluntary and involuntary motor functions, such as movement, balance, and coordination, and it regulates the actions of most of the other body systems, such as blood flow and blood pressure.
The ability to think. The nervous system allows a person to be conscious, to have thoughts and memories, and to use language.

Credits

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Author	Jeannette Curtis
Author	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor	Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Last Updated	May 25, 2007

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Last updated:	May 25, 2007
Author:	Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC

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