PNS

Medical abbreviation · Anatomy

PNS
Stands forPeripheral nervous system
CategoriesMedical

PNS stands for Peripheral nervous system, an anatomy abbreviation.

All nerves and ganglia outside the brain and spinal cord, including the cranial nerves (apart from the optic nerves, which are CNS tissue) and 31 pairs of spinal nerves. It carries sensory information to the CNS and motor commands to muscles and glands; disorders include peripheral neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome and Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Example: Stocking-glove numbness points to PNS involvement, likely diabetic neuropathy.

Usage notes

The PNS is divided functionally into somatic (voluntary) and autonomic divisions. Damaged peripheral axons can regrow at roughly 1 mm per day, far better than CNS axons. Some physiology texts also use PNS for the parasympathetic nervous system, so the surrounding sentence decides the meaning.

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Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.