Does the somatic nervous system have further subdivions?

I know that the autonomic nervous system is subdivided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic. Does the somatic nervous system also have symp ans parasymp divisons or any other divisions?
Thank you

Yes, generally speaking we can class things under sensory and motor.


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Thanks but the autonomic also has sensory and motor right? Are there any subdivisions that are unique to the somatic nervous system only?

Actually the autonomic nervous system is solely efferent.

When we're talking about types of innervation, I guess you can use this classification:

- General Somatic Afferent (GSA) - general sensation from the body
- General Visceral Afferent (GVA) - kind of like the 'sensory component of the ANS' I guess, but it's not classed as such. But this carries sensation from things like chemoreceptors.

- General Somatic Efferent (GSE) - motor innervation to skeletal muscle
- General Visceral Efferent (GVE) - to glands and smooth muscle I.e. Autonomic nervous system

In the head and neck, you also get:
- Special Somatic Afferent (SSA): sensory information from inner ear and eyes (hearing, balance, vision)
- Special Visceral Afferent (SVA): olfaction (smell) and taste
- Special Visceral Efferent (SVE): muscles derived from the branchial arches e.g. Those involved Facial expression, mastication, swallowing

So roughly the peripheral nervous system is divided into Afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) arms. Each then has a visceral and somatic subdivision. The visceral subdivision of the efferent division is the autonomic nervous system.


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