spinal

adjective spi·nal \ ˈspī-nᵊl \

|Updated on: 5 Jul 2018

Definition of spinal

1 : of, relating to, or situated near the spinal column

2 a : of, relating to, or affecting the spinal cord

spinal reflexes

b : having the spinal cord functionally isolated (as by surgical section) from the brain

experiments on spinal animals

3 : of, relating to, or resembling a spine

See spinal defined for English-language learners

See spinal defined for kids

Recent Examples of spinal from the Web

But some people have different curves, side-to-side spinal curves that also twist the spine.

— amy mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Eugenie Just Opened Up About Living with Scoliosis," 1 July 2018
This is Woods' 11th official start since a yearlong absence to have spinal fusion surgery.

— daniel rapaport, SI.com, "Tracking Tiger Woods as He Plays Thursday at the Quicken Loans National," 28 June 2018
The family expected the grandfather to undergo spinal surgery to remove the fragments.

— stephen sorace, Fox News, "'Hero' gun owner tells about confrontation with Walmart carjacker," 20 June 2018
The choreographer recently completed a year-long sentence for felony bankruptcy fraud, but previously left Residential Reentry Center in Long Beach, California, for an emergency spinal surgery in April.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Abby Lee Miller Opens Up About Her Brutal Cancer Treatment in New Instagram Post," 29 May 2018
Meanwhile, Porter, a 6-11 small forward, had a microdiscectomy of his L3-L4 spinal disks that limited his one season at Missouri to three games.

— keith pompey, Philly.com, "Sixers' NBA draft night could go a lot of different directions," 16 June 2018
Scoliosis is a common spinal condition often found in children and adolescents.

— dr. carolyn kienstra and dr. alicia morrisson, miamiherald, "Scoliosis a common condition that could require medical care," 12 June 2018
Maker of the breakthrough spinal muscular drug Spinraza, Ionis has numerous other drugs in clinical trials.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "From cancer to genetic diseases, San Diego's march of drugs progresses," 10 June 2018
Multiple surgeries followed to remove a lung, repair broken bones, and address severe spinal damage and traumatic brain injury.

— clarence williams, Washington Post, "D.C. fire department releases report on 2017 collision that pinned rookie firefighter between equipment at scene," 8 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spinal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of spinal

1578

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

spinal

noun

Definition of spinal

: a spinal anesthetic

Recent Examples of spinal from the Web

At 6 months old, Stevie Browning was diagnosed with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy — the most severe — and was predicted to live between eight months and two years, said his mother, Samantha Angell.

— tessa weinberg, chicagotribune.com, "Northwestern students give 'freedom' by retrofitting motorized cars for kids with disabilities," 1 July 2018
The drug, known as AVXS-101, could be approved for Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy by the end of this year, according to Wells Fargo’s Jim Birchenough, whose price target of $171 implies another 34 percent upside for the shares.

— bailey lipschultz, Bloomberg.com, "Biotech Stock Draws Skeptics Even as It Rallies to New Highs," 7 Mar. 2018
The report, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, identified a major cause of miscarriages, in addition to heart, spinal, kidney and cleft palate problems in newborn babies.

— rob taylor, WSJ, "Spread the News: Vitamin B3 in Vegemite Prevents Some Birth Defects," 10 Aug. 2017