VERTEBRAL COLUMN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vertebral column mean? 

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

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

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• VERTEBRAL 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 ("vertebral column" is a kind of...):

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

Meronyms (parts of "vertebral 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 "vertebral 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 ("vertebral 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 

Herniation of spinal cord tissue and meninges through a defect in the lumbar region of the vertebral column.

(Lumbar Myelocele, NCI Thesaurus)

A triangular muscle in the back, connected to the vertebral column, arm, and shoulder.

(Musculus Latissimus Dorsi, NCI Thesaurus)

Herniation of spinal cord tissue and meninges through a defect in a region of the vertebral column.

(Myelocele, NCI Thesaurus)

In higher vertebrates it is replaced by the vertebral column.

(Notochord, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

An animal lacking a vertebral column.

(Invertebrate, NCI Thesaurus)

The administration of a drug within the vertebral column.

(Intraspinal Route of Administration, NCI Thesaurus)

Sensory ganglia located on the dorsal spinal roots within the vertebral column.

(Dorsal Root Ganglion, NLM, Medical Subject Headings/CDISC)

Herniation of spinal cord tissue and meninges through a defect in the cervical region of the vertebral column.

(Cervical Myelocele, NCI Thesaurus)

Also called spinal column, spine, and vertebral column.

(Backbone, NCI Dictionary)

Ganglion with sensory function within the vertebral column.

(Dorsal Root Ganglion, NCI Thesaurus)