Parasympathetic Pathway

Above: Parasympathetic innervation to the detrusor muscle begins with preganglionic neurons located in intermediate gray matter of the sacral spinal cord (S1-3). Preganglionic axons travel in the ventral root, spinal nerve, sacral part of the lumbosacral plexus, and pelvic nerve to reach the pelvic plexus. The preganglionic axons synapse on postganglionic neurons within pelvic ganglia. Postganglionic parasympathetic axons release acetylcholine in the bladder wall to causes detrusor contraction.

Below: Dissection of the lumbosacral plexus in a feline cadaver. The pelvic nerve is a branch of the sacral plexus subdivision.

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