ABSTRACT
In general, the pelvis and the pelvic floor are innervated by both divisions of the autonomic nervous system (the sympathetic and parasympathetic), as well as by the somatic and sensory nervous systems. In a broad anatomic view, dual projections from the thoracolumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord carry out this innervation, converging primarily into discrete peripheral neuronal plexuses before distributing nerve fibers throughout the pelvis ( Fig. 50.1 ). Interactive neuronal pathways routing from higher origins in the brain through the spinal cord add to the complexity of neuronal regulation in the pelvis.
