The Autonomic Nervous System

Anticoagulants interfere with the body’s normal blood clotting ability.  We have discussed hemostasis in class, so now you have the chance to learn more about factors that inhibit clotting.  Please select two different chemicals/molecules that act as anticoagulants.  For each one, 1) discuss how it interferes with the clotting processes we discussed and 2) describe when/why this chemical/molecule is typically used in a laboratory or medical setting (if it is not, then under what conditions is it used or why is it not used in laboratory/clinical settings).

The Autonomic Nervous System can be challenging to understand because it is connected to virtually every body function in opposite ways. We are going to explore the physiology of the ANS in this discussion by looking at specific examples of how it works.

Initial post:  For your first discussion post, describe how the parasympathetic nervous system influences one function in your body. For example, the parasympathetic nervous system causes decreased blood pressure. If you chose this body function, you would describe the physiology behind the decreased blood pressure. How does it happen? What occurs in the heart/blood vessels? Which scenarios or external factors would cause the parasympathetic nervous system to activate this response?