The outer parts of the body are connected to the central nervous system through which system?

• A. Autonomic nervous system
• B. Central nervous system
• C. Somatic nervous system
• D. Peripheral nervous system

Answer: (D)

The peripheral nervous system is the network that links the outer parts of the body to the brain and spinal cord. It includes all nerves outside the central nervous system and serves as the communication highway: it carries sensory information from the skin, muscles, and organs to the central nervous system, and it transmits motor commands from the CNS back to muscles and glands. The central nervous system itself is the brain and spinal cord, not the pathway that reaches out to the body. The autonomic and somatic nervous systems are subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system—autonomic handles automatic functions, while somatic controls voluntary movement—so they are parts of the same overall system that connects the body to the CNS.