216 ELEMENTS OF MAMMALIAN ANATOMY. 



large inferior cervical ganglion just caudad of the first rib. 

 From the cervical portions of the sympathetic cord are 

 given off numerous delicate branches, forming the carotid 

 plexus on the carotid artery, and uniting with the eight 

 posterior cranial nerves and the first spinal nerve. From 

 the inferior cervical ganglion a branch goes to the vagus 

 nerve, several branches to the brachial plexus, and a branch 

 to the heart, forming the cardiac plexus, while the main 

 sympathetic cord continues along the dorsal thoracic wall. 

 A ganglion occurs opposite each vertebral body, from which 

 it gives off a branch to the corresponding spinal nerve. The 

 great splanchnic arises from the main cord just craniad of 

 the diaphragm and extends to a group of ganglia in the 

 region of the trunk of the coeliac axis (Figs. 107 and 108). 

 These ganglia and anastomosing branches constitute the 

 solar or epigastric plexus, lying dorsad of the stomach, to 

 which it sends numerous branches. This plexus also receives 

 the lesser splanchnic nerve coming from the sympathetic cord 

 just craniad of the diaphragm, and branches from the tenth 

 cranial nerve. 



The largest ganglion of the solar plexus is the semilunar. 

 The solar and its allied plexuses send nerves to the dia- 

 phragm, suprarenal bodies, many of the blood-vessels of the 

 abdominal cavity, stomach, kidneys, ureters, testes or 

 ovaries, uterus, liver, gall-bladder, spleen, pancreas, and 

 intestines. 



The hypogastric plexus is the third great sympathetic 

 plexus. It lies on the ventral aspect of the two caudal 

 lumbar vertebrae and is formed by branches from the solar 

 plexus and a few twigs from the sympathetic cords. It sup- 

 plies the blood-vessels of the pelvic region and all the 

 organs of the pelvis. The sympathetic cords in the lumbar 

 region lie near together and the communicating branches 

 between them and the spinal nerves are longer than in the 



