Main Entry: ver·te·bra

Pronunciation: \ˈvər-tə-brə, -ˌbrā\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural ver·te·brae \-ˌbrā, -(ˌ)brē, -brə\ or ver·te·bras

Etymology: Latin, joint, vertebra, from vertere to turn

Date: 1578

: one of the bony or cartilaginous segments composing the spinal column, consisting in some lower vertebrates of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent vertebrae and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord