slipped disc

noun

variants or slipped disk

plural slipped discs or slipped disks

: a protrusion of one of the cartilage discs between vertebrae with pressure on spinal nerves resulting in low back pain or sciatic pain

Such detailed photographs might save lives: diagnosis of cancer, tuberculosis, and even a slipped disc, will be quicker, with the guesswork eliminated.

—London Evening Free Press (London, Ontario)

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

slipped disc

noun

variants or slipped disk

ˌslipt- 

: a protrusion of an intervertebral disc and its nucleus pulposus that produces pressure upon spinal nerves resulting in low-back pain and often sciatic pain