There are two portions of the motor division of the PNS. Which are they?

• A. Somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system
• B. Sensory division and motor division
• C. Central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
• D. Brain stem and spinal cord

Answer: (A)

The motor division of the peripheral nervous system is made up of two parts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The somatic system handles voluntary motor control, sending signals from the brain to skeletal muscles to produce deliberate movements. The autonomic system governs involuntary functions, regulating actions of smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands without conscious effort, and it includes sympathetic and parasympathetic branches that balance the body’s automatic responses. The other options mix in sensory pathways or refer to the central nervous system, which aren’t the two components of the motor division.