baroreceptor

Introduction

Arterial baroreceptors are located in the carotid sinus & the aortic arch.

Other baroreceptors are located in the cardiac ventricles.

Afferents

• afferents from the carotid sinus & the aortic arch baroreceptors travel in the vagus & glossopharyngeal nerves to the nucleus solitarius where they synapse
• projections extend to the nucleus ambiguous (parasympathetic nucleus) & to the rostral & caudal ventrolateral medulla (sympathetic nuclei)
• baraoreceptor signals are processed, integrated, & a response is elicited

Efferents

• parasympathetic efferent fibers travel via the vagus nerve to the cardiac plexus & to end organs
• sympathetic efferents extend to preganglionic cell bodies of the sympathetic nerves contained in the intermediolateral cell column
• preganglionic fibers then synapse with postganglionic sympathetic fibers in the stellate ganglion & other sympathetic ganglia
• post-ganglionic sympathetic fibers synapse on end organs

More general terms

• anatomic structure

More specific terms

• carotid sinus; carotid bulb