Intermediate Greater Splanchnic Nerve Quiz

Q1. What is the usual relationship of the greater splanchnic nerve to the thoracic sympathetic trunk?

• It arises from the lumbar plexus
• It is a continuation of the vagus nerve
• It is a branch of the phrenic nerve
• It is formed by converging visceral branches from thoracic sympathetic ganglia

Q2. How does the greater splanchnic nerve typically enter the abdomen?

• Through the obturator canal
• Through the inguinal canal
• Through the caval opening with the inferior vena cava
• Through or behind the diaphragmatic crus

Q3. What happens to many greater splanchnic preganglionic fibers after reaching the celiac ganglia?

• They return immediately to the thoracic spinal cord
• They become somatic sensory fibers
• They synapse with postganglionic sympathetic neurons
• They synapse in dorsal root ganglia

Q4. How do postganglionic fibers relayed from the celiac ganglia commonly reach foregut organs?

• Through the femoral nerve
• Through posterior rami of lumbar nerves
• Through the inguinal ligament
• Along periarterial plexuses accompanying celiac trunk branches

Q5. Which functional effect is generally associated with sympathetic output relayed through the greater splanchnic and celiac pathways?

• Voluntary contraction of the stomach
• Reduced gastrointestinal motility and secretion
• Generalized increase in peristalsis
• Direct activation of skeletal muscle in the bowel wall

Q6. Why can the greater splanchnic nerve participate in upper abdominal visceral pain transmission?

• It carries only parasympathetic efferents
• It directly supplies cutaneous receptors of the abdomen
• It is exclusively a somatic motor nerve
• It carries accompanying visceral pain afferents toward thoracic spinal levels

Q7. Which spinal nerve pathway initially carries sympathetic preganglionic fibers from the spinal cord to the sympathetic trunk?

• White rami communicantes
• Posterior rami only
• Gray rami communicantes only
• Recurrent meningeal nerves only

Q8. Why is the greater splanchnic nerve called a splanchnic nerve?

• It is a motor nerve to intercostal muscles
• It supplies only skin of the thorax
• It carries visceral autonomic and afferent fibers
• It is a branch of a cranial nerve

Q9. Which structure receives sympathetic fibers that may travel through thoracic splanchnic pathways without synapsing in a prevertebral ganglion first?

• Skin of the anterior thigh
• Rectus abdominis
• Adrenal medulla
• Gallbladder epithelium only

Q10. Which statement best distinguishes the greater splanchnic nerve from the vagus nerve in the abdomen?

• The greater splanchnic is sympathetic, while the vagus is parasympathetic
• Both normally synapse in the celiac ganglia
• The vagus is sympathetic and the greater splanchnic is parasympathetic
• Both are purely somatic motor nerves