PC the Little Boy of Rest and Digestion Once upon a time there was a little boy named PC.

His Mom named him PC because he had a pear (Parasympathetic) shape and his nature (Rest and Digestion) was like his moms side of the family the Cholinergics. This is a very important story because if you get to know little PC really well then you should understand the Parasympathetic Nervous System and then this will help you understand the drugs that are called cholinergics. The story is about PC and his bedtime ritual. Before PC goes to bed his mother always prepares him a yummy bedtime snack. But in order for him to digest his snack he has to increase his gastric secretions. Now after eating his bedtime snack, his mommy says, Now PC, you must go to the bathroom and empty your bowels and bladder before you can go to bed. I dont want you soiling my very expensive Saks Fifth Avenue bedspread. You know your father works hard and it took him 12 years to make enough money for us to have that bedspread. Well, PC was a good child so he did just as his mommy said and he went to the bathroom and did number 1(urinated, wet, made water, etc.) and number 2 (stinkied, made poo, bombs over Tokyo, etc). After emptying his bowels and bladder PC was ready to climb into bed to go fast asleep, but before PC could climb into his bed. His pupils constricted (MIOSIS) and his eyes focused for near vision. This was so he could read his favorite book which is about his arch nemesis, Sympathetic Sam. He and Sympathetic Sam have nothing in common as they are direct opposites of each other. PC is a rest and digestion kind of guy and Sympathetic Same is a Fight and Flight kind of guy. Even though they were very different, they really worked and played well together as PC would help your kidneys act and bowels move and Sympathetic Same would keep you from urinating and defecating yourself to death. But if you overdosed on either one of them (too much Parasympathetic stimulation would cause you to urinate and defecat yourself to death and if you overdosed on a sympathetic agent then your bladder would swell up like a balloon and pop and your bowels would run loose). So see the two of them working together within the body to keep the body in that well balanced state called- homeostasis . Lastly but certainly not least, before he could go to sleep his mother had to give him some medicine because he always has difficulty breathing as the smooth muscles in his bronchi constrict, so he could go fast asleep, and dream of his faithful friend Mr. Neurotransmitter, Mr. Acetycholine commonly called ACh. Now while he is sleeping his heart rate took a rest too, it slowed down(slowed heart rate). The End

6 Regulatory Functions of the Parasympathetic System Slowed heart rate Increased gastric secretion Emptying bowel and bladder Focus of the eyes for near vision Constriction of the pupils Contraction of the smooth muscles of the bronchi