The division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body's skeletal muscles.

• A. Autonomic Nervous System
• B. Enteric Nervous System
• C. Central Nervous System
• D. Skeletal (somatic) Nervous System

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is that the peripheral nervous system is split into somatic and autonomic divisions, with the somatic (skeletal) branch handling voluntary movement. The somatic nervous system sends motor signals from the spinal cord to skeletal muscles, enabling conscious control of actions like walking or lifting. It also carries sensory information from those muscles and joints back to the brain, helping you sense position and movement. By contrast, the autonomic nervous system manages involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, and gland activity. The enteric system focuses on the gut’s own reflexes, and the central nervous system refers to the brain and spinal cord, not a peripheral division. So the division that controls skeletal muscles is the somatic (skeletal) nervous system.