Sympathetic Nervous System Diagram

All 14 parts on the diagram

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One pathway 9

Sympathetic trunk ganglion (paravertebral ganglion) A swelling of the trunk where many fibers synapse.
Sympathetic trunk (sympathetic chain) The chain that links the ganglia beside the vertebral column.
Preganglionic neuron The first neuron: from the cord to a ganglion.
Postganglionic neuron The second neuron: from a ganglion to the organ.
Lateral horn Gray matter that holds the preganglionic cell bodies.
White ramus communicans The branch that carries preganglionic fibers to the trunk.
Gray ramus communicans The branch that returns postganglionic fibers to the spinal nerve.
Splanchnic nerve Preganglionic fibers that cross the trunk without a synapse.
Collateral ganglion (prevertebral ganglion) A ganglion in front of the aorta, serving abdominal organs.

The whole division 5

Adrenal medulla Its cells act as postganglionic neurons and release epinephrine.
Superior cervical ganglion The top ganglion of the trunk; it serves the head.
Celiac ganglion A large prevertebral ganglion in the upper abdomen.
Superior mesenteric ganglion A prevertebral ganglion near the root of the superior mesenteric artery.
Inferior mesenteric ganglion A prevertebral ganglion near the root of the inferior mesenteric artery.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail line was checked on 2026-09-30 against Kenhub, Sympathetic nervous system, https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/sympathetic-nervous-system, and Autonomic nervous system; Wikipedia, Sympathetic nervous system, Sympathetic trunk, Prevertebral ganglia and the article on each ramus, nerve and ganglion, text only; and Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 1918 (public domain), https://archive.org/details/anatomyofhumanbo00grayrich. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Own original drawing; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This sympathetic nervous system diagram has two views. The first follows one fiber out of the spinal cord and through the sympathetic trunk. The second shows the whole division, from the top of the chain to the adrenal medulla.

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One pathway

A preganglionic neuron starts in the lateral horn. Its fiber leaves with the spinal nerve and reaches a trunk ganglion through the white ramus. There it meets a postganglionic neuron, runs along the sympathetic trunk to another ganglion, or passes through as a splanchnic nerve to a collateral ganglion. Postganglionic fibers return to the spinal nerve by the gray ramus.

The whole division

The fibers leave the cord only between T1 and L2. The superior cervical ganglion tops the chain. The celiac, superior mesenteric and inferior mesenteric ganglia stand in front of the aorta. One fiber runs straight to the adrenal medulla.

Solid lines are preganglionic fibers; dashed lines are postganglionic fibers.
In the first view the sympathetic trunk is turned on its side; in the body it runs up and down beside the vertebral column.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between the white and gray rami?

The white ramus carries preganglionic fibers from the spinal nerve to the sympathetic trunk; their myelin makes it look white. The gray ramus carries postganglionic fibers, which have little myelin, back from the trunk to the spinal nerve.

Where do sympathetic preganglionic neurons start?

In the lateral horn of the gray matter of the spinal cord, from the first thoracic segment to the second or third lumbar segment. That is why the sympathetic division is also called the thoracolumbar division.

Why is the adrenal medulla part of the sympathetic system?

Preganglionic fibers end directly on its cells, with no second neuron in between. The cells take the place of postganglionic neurons and release epinephrine into the blood.

Is this the answer key to “correctly label the following structures in the sympathetic nervous system”?

That sentence is a publisher’s labeling activity. This page shows the same structures on drawings of our own, so the layout differs, but the names are the standard ones.