The parasympathetic ganglion is composed primarily of which components?

The parasympathetic ganglion is composed primarily of which components?

• A. Axons
• B. Cell bodies of multipolar neurons
• C. Blood vessels
• D. Glial cells

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is what makes autonomic parasympathetic ganglia unique: they are the neighborhoods where the cell bodies of postganglionic neurons reside. Preganglionic parasympathetic fibers enter the ganglion and form synapses on multipolar neuron cell bodies—the postganglionic neurons. From those cell bodies, the long postganglionic fibers extend to reach their target organs. So the ganglion’s main content is these neuron cell bodies, with supportive glial cells around them and some connective tissue and blood vessels, but the defining feature is the presence of postganglionic neuron cell bodies. Axons are present as incoming and outgoing fibers, but they are not the primary bulk inside the ganglion, and blood vessels or glial cells, while present, do not constitute the main component.

The key idea here is what makes autonomic parasympathetic ganglia unique: they are the neighborhoods where the cell bodies of postganglionic neurons reside. Preganglionic parasympathetic fibers enter the ganglion and form synapses on multipolar neuron cell bodies—the postganglionic neurons. From those cell bodies, the long postganglionic fibers extend to reach their target organs. So the ganglion’s main content is these neuron cell bodies, with supportive glial cells around them and some connective tissue and blood vessels, but the defining feature is the presence of postganglionic neuron cell bodies. Axons are present as incoming and outgoing fibers, but they are not the primary bulk inside the ganglion, and blood vessels or glial cells, while present, do not constitute the main component.