SPINAL COLUMN

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does spinal column mean? 

• SPINAL COLUMN (noun)
  The noun SPINAL COLUMN has 1 sense:

1. the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

  Familiarity information: SPINAL COLUMN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPINAL COLUMN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

back; backbone; rachis; spinal column; spine; vertebral column

Context example:

the fall broke his back

Hypernyms ("spinal column" is a kind of...):

skeletal structure (any structure created by the skeleton of an organism)

Meronyms (parts of "spinal column"):

canalis vertebralis; spinal canal; vertebral canal (the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes)

coccyx; tail bone (the end of the vertebral column in humans and tailless apes)

vertebra (one of the bony segments of the spinal column)

intervertebral disc; intervertebral disk (a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spinal column"):

notochord (a flexible rodlike structure that forms the supporting axis of the body in the lowest chordates and lowest vertebrates and in embryos of higher vertebrates)

chine (backbone of an animal)

Holonyms ("spinal column" is a part of...):

axial skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs)

 Context examples 

A type of bone cancer that usually starts in the lower spinal column or at the base of the skull.

(Chordoma, NCI Dictionary)

The science concerned with the origin, structure, development, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of animals that have no spinal column.

(Invertebrate Biology, NCI Thesaurus)

A procedure in which a thin needle called a spinal needle is put into the lower part of the spinal column to collect cerebrospinal fluid or to give drugs.

(Lumbar puncture, NCI Dictionary)

Relating to the cranium and the spinal column.

(Craniospinal, NCI Thesaurus)

A sympathetic ganglion located adjacent to the spinal column.

(Para-Spinal Ganglion, NCI Thesaurus)

Animals that have no spinal column.

(Invertebrate, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

Abnormally increased curvature of the lumbar portion of the spinal column.

(Lordosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A congenital abnormality in the lumbar region of the spine, in which the spinal cord and meninges protrude through a defect in the spinal column.

(Lumbar Myelomeningocele, NCI Thesaurus)

A congenital abnormality in which the spinal cord and meninges protrude through a defect in the spinal column.

(Myelomeningocele, NCI Thesaurus)

A congenital abnormality in which the meninges protrude through a defect in the spinal column or the cranium.

(Meningocele, NCI Thesaurus)