gray rami communicantes
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Introduction
Short nerves arising from the lateral aspect of the sympathetic trunk.
They conduct nonmyelinated postsynaptic (postganglionic) sympathetic nerve fibers, from the sympathetic trunk to the initial portions of all 31 pairs of ventral ramus.
These fibers are destined for distribution of all parts including the dorsal rami.
The paired spinal nerves include 8 cervical nerves, 12 thoracic nerves, 5 lumbar nervea, 5 sacral nerves & 1 coccygeal nerve.
The gray rami are parietal branches of the sympathetic trunks since all postsynaptic fibers to be distributed to the body wall (including limbs) must pass through them.