spinal column

The series of articulated vertebrae, separated by intervertebral disks and held together by muscles and tendons, that extends from the cranium to the coccyx or the end of the tail, encasing the spinal cord and forming the central support of the body; the spine. Also called vertebral column.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spinal column

(Anatomy) a series of contiguous or interconnecting bony or cartilaginous segments that surround and protect the spinal cord. Also called: spine, vertebral column or rachis Nontechnical name: backbone

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spi′nal col`umn

the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton in vertebrate animals; spine; backbone.

[1830–40]

spi·nal column

(spī′nəl)

See vertebral column.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

spinal column - the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back"

spine, vertebral column, rachis, backbone, back

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

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)

skeletal structure - any structure created by the skeleton of an organism

axial skeleton - the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs

Translations

σπονδυλική στήλη

colonna vertebrale

spinal column

n → colonna vertebrale, spina dorsale

spi·nal col·umn

n. columna o espina vertebral, estructura ósea formada por treinta y tres vértebras que rodean y contienen la médula espinal.