Nerves of the heart (English)

The heart is supplied mainly by the cardiac plexus, comprising fibers from both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Sympathetic supply comes primarily from the preganglionic fibers that originate from the intermediolateral nucleus (a.k.a. column) in the first four or five thoracic segments of the spinal cord. These fibers synapse in the cervical and superior thoracic paravertebral ganglia of the sympathetic trunks. Postganglionic fibers from these ganglia unite to form the superior, middle, inferior cervical, and thoracic cardiac nerves. Parasympathetic supply comes from pregangionic fibers that arise from neurons either in the posterior nucleus of vagus nerve or near the nucleus ambiguus, and run in cardiac branches of the vagus nerves. Postganglionic parasympathetic cell bodies (intrinsic ganglia) are located in the atrial wall and interatrial septum near the SA and AV nodes and along the coronary arteries.