<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Anatomical terminology (edit on Wikidata) </Td> </Tr> <P> Sympathetic ganglia are the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system . They deliver information to the body about stress and impending danger, and are responsible for the familiar fight - or - flight response . They contain approximately 20,000--30,000 nerve cell bodies and are located close to and on either side of the spinal cord in long chains . Sympathetic ganglia are the tissue from which neuroblastoma tumours arise . </P> <P> The bilaterally symmetric sympathetic chain ganglia, also called the paravertebral ganglia, are located just ventral and lateral to the spinal cord . The chain extends from the upper neck down to the coccyx, forming the unpaired coccygeal ganglion . Preganglionic nerves from the spinal cord synapse at one of the chain ganglia, and the postganglionic fiber extends to an effector, a visceral organ in the thoracic cavity, abdominal cavity, or pelvic cavity . </P> <P> There are usually 22 - 23 pairs of these ganglia: 3 in the cervical region (cervical ganglia), 11 in the thoracic region (note the presence of the stellate cervicothoracic ganglia), 4 in the lumbar region and 4 - 5 in the sacral region . Throughout human evolution, the first thoracic and inferior cervical ganglia merged - and this resulting ganglion is called the stellate ganglion (so called because of its radiating pattern similar in appearance to a star). </P>

Where are the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system located