SPINAL CORD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does spinal cord mean? 

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

1. a major part of the central nervous system which conducts sensory and motor nerve impulses to and from the brain; a long tubelike structure extending from the base of the brain through the vertebral canal to the upper lumbar region

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPINAL CORD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A major part of the central nervous system which conducts sensory and motor nerve impulses to and from the brain; a long tubelike structure extending from the base of the brain through the vertebral canal to the upper lumbar region

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

medulla spinalis; spinal cord

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

funiculus (any of several body structure resembling a cord)

neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)

Meronyms (parts of "spinal cord"):

spinal vein; vena spinalis (veins that drain the spinal cord)

Golgi's cell; Golgi cell (a neuron in the cerebral cortex with short dendrites and with either a long axon or a short axon that ramifies in the grey matter)

cerebrospinal fluid; spinal fluid (clear liquid produced in the ventricles of the brain; fills and protects cavities in the brain and spinal cord)

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

central nervous system; CNS; systema nervosum centrale (the portion of the vertebrate nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord)

 Context examples 

Meningitis causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord and can kill within hours.

(Experts Link Fatal Mystery Illness in Liberia to Meningitis Bacteria, VOA)

A malignant neoplasm that has spread to the spinal cord from another anatomic site or system.

(Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm to the Spinal Cord, NCI Thesaurus)

A tumor in the part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord (the brain stem).

(Brain Stem Neoplasm, NCI Dictionary)

The researchers first converted the stem cells into newborn spinal cord neurons or epithelial cells that line walls of brain blood vessels.

(Researchers begin recreating human spinal cords on a chip, National Institutes of Health)

The part of the brain that connects the cerebral hemispheres with the spinal cord.

(Brain stem, NCI Thesaurus)

A tumor located in the part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord (the brain stem).

(Brain stem glioma, NCI Dictionary)

MRIs are very useful for examining the brain and spinal cord.

(MRI Scans, NIH)

Baclofen relaxes muscles by blocking certain nerve receptors in the spinal cord.

(Baclofen, NCI Dictionary)

An inflammatory process affecting the spinal cord.

(Myelitis, NCI Thesaurus)

A disorder characterized by inflammation involving the spinal cord.

(Myelitis, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)