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 ceeliac 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 vertebrze 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 
