Describe the anatomy of the celiac plexus

Describe the anatomy of the celiac plexus.

The celiac plexus is part of the sympathetic nervous sys-tem and is made up of the celiac, superior mesenteric, and aortico-renal ganglia. Nerve fibers that traverse the celiac plexus arise from cell bodies from T₅–T₁₂ and leave the spinal cord without synapsing in the paravertebral ganglia. These sympathetic fibers form the greater, lesser, and least splanchnic nerves and coalesce around the celiac artery at approximately the L₁ level. Here they synapse with post-ganglionic fibers that supply the intra-abdominal organs below the diaphragm up to the splenic flexure of the large intestine. These include the stomach, small and large intes-tine, pancreas, hepatobiliary system, kidneys, adrenals, spleen, and omentum. The celiac plexus contains visceral afferent and efferent fibers, as well as, some parasympathetic fibers.