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.
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 The theory, laid out in a study published February 27 in the journal Scientific Reports, is based on examinations of tiny shards found in 2020 inside the skull and spinal column of an individual at Herculaneum–a small port town with a population of around 5,000 people at the time. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2025 The only tethers holding his head to his body were his neck muscles and spinal column, which came under enormous stress. Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 13 Feb. 2025 Arceneaux experienced headaches, nasal congestion, and intense back pain as her spinal column stretched in microgravity. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 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 11 Mar. 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

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