Enteric nervous system

The enteric nervous system (ENS) or intrinsic nervous system is one of the main divisions of the nervous system and consists of a mesh-like system of neurons that governs the function of the gastrointestinal system. It is now usually referred to as separate from the autonomic nervous system since it has its own independent reflex activity.

It is derived from neural crest cells.

The enteric nervous system in humans consists of some 500 million neurons (including the various types of Dogiel cells), one two-hundredth of the number of neurons in the brain, five times as many as the one hundred million neurons in the human spinal cord, and about 2/3 as many as in the whole nervous system of a cat. The enteric nervous system is embedded in the lining of the gastrointestinal system, beginning in the esophagus and extending down to the anus.

The neurons of the ENS are collected into two types of ganglia: myenteric (Auerbach's) and submucosal (Meissner's) plexuses. Myenteric plexuses are located between the inner and outer layers of the muscularis externa, while submucosal plexuses are located in the submucosa.

The ENS is capable of autonomous functions such as the coordination of reflexes; although it receives considerable innervation from the autonomic nervous system, it can and does operate independently of the brain and the spinal cord. Its study is the focus of neurogastroenterology.

ENS function can be damaged by ischemia. Transplantation, previously described as a theoretical possibility, has been a clinical reality in the United States since 2011 and is regularly performed at some hospitals.

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