spinal nerve

noun

plural spinal nerves
: any of the paired nerves which leave the spinal cord of a craniate vertebrate, supply muscles of the trunk and limbs, and connect with the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system, which arise by a short motor ventral root and a short sensory dorsal root, and of which there are 31 pairs in humans

Examples of spinal nerve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Compression of the spinal nerves leads to pain, tingling, and weakness that radiates down the affected shoulder and arm. Laura Dorwart, Verywell Health, 13 Aug. 2024 An epidural is a small catheter that injects a pain-relieving medication — either an anesthetic or steroid — into the space around your spinal nerves, known as the epidural space. Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024 An experimental medical device called Arc-Ex, which stimulates a patient’s spinal nerves with electric pulses, appeared to incrementally improve arm and hand function in a small trial of patients with tetraplegia—a condition in which one is partially or totally paralyzed from the neck down. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2024 These medications are delivered through a small tube (catheter) placed in your back that opens into the space around your spinal nerves, or the epidural space. Samantha Lauriello, Health, 26 May 2024 And while stimulating spinal nerves to generate sensation in a missing limb isn’t a new idea, the researchers wanted to test whether that could also reduce pain. Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 15 Dec. 2023 That’s because the tongue is controlled by a cranial nerve, but the hands are controlled by spinal nerves. R. Douglas Fields, Quanta Magazine, 28 Aug. 2023 Injuries that cause a herniated disk may lead to spinal nerve root compression. Sarah Fielding, Health, 3 July 2023 Muscles, bones, discs, spinal nerves, internal organs, or underlying illness can directly or indirectly cause lower back pain. Stuart Hershman, Verywell Health, 26 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spinal nerve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1683, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spinal nerve was in 1683

Dictionary Entries Near spinal nerve

Cite this Entry

“Spinal nerve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spinal%20nerve. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

spinal nerve

noun
: any of the paired nerves which arise from the spinal cord and pass to various parts of the body and of which there are normally 31 pairs in human beings

Medical Definition

spinal nerve

noun
: any of the paired nerves which leave the spinal cord of a craniate vertebrate, supply muscles of the trunk and limbs, and connect with the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system, which arise by a short motor ventral root and a short sensory dorsal root, and of which there are 31 pairs in humans classified according to the part of the spinal cord from which they arise into 8 pairs of cervical nerves, 12 pairs of thoracic nerves, 5 pairs of lumbar nerves, 5 pairs of sacral nerves, and one pair of coccygeal nerves

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