spinal column

noun

: the axial skeleton of a vertebrate that consists of an articulated series of vertebrae which extend from the neck to the tail and protect the spinal cord

called also backbone, vertebral column

Examples of spinal column in a Sentence

a diagram of the spinal column
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The team concluded that based on the spinal column, the combination of a great white build with the megalodon's much longer length would have simply proved too cumbersome. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2025 Symptoms usually begin as headache, nausea, vomiting and fever, but then can spread to neurological symptoms after the parasite leaves the bloodstream, enters muscle, migrates to peripheral nerves and into the spinal column and brain, doctors said. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025 Since moving around on land did not require a stiff spinal column, early terrestrial vertebrates evolved flexibility just behind the head, enabling them to widely scan the environment and to direct their mouths toward prey without moving their whole bodies. Kent Dunlap, The Conversation, 10 Feb. 2025 Their work, published in Science Robotics, introduces a novel control approach that combines the natural coordination patterns of our fingers with the decoding of motoneuron activity in the spinal column. Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 1 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for spinal column

Word History

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spinal column was in 1831

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Cite this Entry

“Spinal column.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spinal%20column. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

spinal column

noun

Medical Definition

spinal column

noun
: the articulated series of vertebrae connected by ligaments and separated by more or less elastic intervertebral fibrocartilages that in nearly all vertebrates forms the supporting axis of the body and a protection for the spinal cord and that extends from the hind end of the skull through the median dorsal part of the body to the coccyx or end of the tail

called also backbone, spine, vertebral column

More from Merriam-Webster on spinal column

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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