Objectives and Methods
Objectives
- Investigate the physiological changes brought about by thoracic sympathectomy.
- Organize and unify the constellation of individual effects into a comprehensive theory.
- Be accessible to the intelligent layperson, and at the same time serve as a useful resource for the medical professional.
Methods
- Referencing standard textbooks and current neurophysiology
literature, create a theoretical model of the normal human autonomic
nervous system, with special emphasis on those parts served by the upper
thoracic sympathetic ganglia. Alter the model to reflect a bilateral
thoracic sympathectomy, the corposcindosis or CS model.
- Using the CS model, make a series of predictions about changes
in the function of individual target effectors. Compare these
predictions to available empirical and anecdotal data.
- Considering the changes in individual effectors, make a series
of predictions about changes to overall systemic function, then compare
these predictions to available empirical and anecdotal data.
- Discuss, offer conclusions and suggestions as to how future
clinical study could further our knowledge of the effects of thoracic
sympathectomy in humans.
