To save this word, you'll need to log in.
spi·nal | \ ˈspī-nᵊl 
\
\Definition of spinal
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : of, relating to, or situated near the spinal column
2a : 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
spinal
nounDefinition of spinal (Entry 2 of 2)
: a spinal anesthetic
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of spinal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective An experimental stem cell treatment appears to be helping a monkey at the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden heal from spinal arthritis.
—
USA TODAY, "Cold case cards, firework record, monkey treatment: News from around our 50 states," 11 Feb. 2020 Women who had general anesthesia were also 54% more likely to experience postpartum depression and 91% more likely to have thoughts about suicide or self-harm, compared to those who had regional anesthesia such as spinal blocks or epidurals.
—
Harmeet Kaur, CNN, "Women who have general anesthesia during C-sections are more likely to experience postpartum depression, study finds," 8 Feb. 2020 The treatment, a gene therapy called Zolgensma, is designed for children like Wynter who have a neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA.
—
Andrew Joseph, STAT, "A lottery like no other offers up a cutting-edge medicine — with lives on the line," 7 Feb. 2020 Both specimens had spinal fractures, and one had a degenerative joint disease.
—
National Geographic, "Ancient Egyptian 'head cone mystery' solved by archaeologists," 11 Dec. 2019 Julius Haag died of spinal meningitis a year after he was released from prison at the age of 62.
—
Dawn Mitchell, Indianapolis Star, "'Cut Price Drugs': Remembering Haag Drug, your neighborhood pharmacy," 22 Nov. 2019 When Rosemary Bowen hurt her back last fall, she was diagnosed with a spinal compression fracture, a common injury for people with osteoporosis.
—
Tara Bahrampour, Twin Cities, "Woman chose to end her life by not eating; daughter filmed last days," 4 Nov. 2019 Treatment for a blood clot in 2002 caused the spinal tumors to hemorrhage, paralyzing the former track star from the chest down.
—
Scott Wartman, Cincinnati.com, "Todd Portune dies: Longtime Democrat helped shape Cincinnati, Hamilton County," 26 Jan. 2020 The FlyEM group is now working on constructing a circuit diagram of the fruit fly’s full nervous system—which consists of the entire brain and nerve cord, a spinal cordlike structure in the insect.
—
Diana Kwon, Scientific American, "Largest Brain Wiring Diagram to Date Is Published," 22 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun She was diagnosed with Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy and spent more than two months in the pediatric intensive care unit at Mass. General.
—
Jonathan Saltzman, BostonGlobe.com, "The world’s most expensive medicine could save toddlers’ lives. But getting it is complicated," 8 Aug. 2019 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
See MoreThese 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for spinal
spinal
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of spinal
: of, relating to, or affecting the spine
See the full definition for spinal in the English Language Learners Dictionary
spinal
adjectivespi·nal | \ ˈspī-nᵊl \
\Kids Definition of spinal
: of, relating to, or located near the backbone or the spinal cord
a spinal injury
spinal
adjectivespi·nal | \ ˈspīn-ᵊl \
\Medical Definition of spinal
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : of, relating to, or situated near the spinal column
2a : 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
c : used for spinal anesthesia
a spinal anesthetic
3 : made for or fitted to the spinal column
a spinal brace
Other Words from spinal
spinally \ -ē \ adverb
\ adverbspinal
nounMedical Definition of spinal (Entry 2 of 2)
: a spinal anesthetic
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on spinal
What made you want to look up spinal? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
More Confusing Words—Quiz
- The magician
______moved the selected card to the top of the deck.
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- More Confusing Words—Quiz
How many of these commonly confused words do you know?
Take the quiz - Name that Thing: Toys and Games Edition
It's all fun and games until someone beats your high score.
Take the quiz - Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Bee Cubed
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
Share spinal
Time Traveler for spinal
The first known use of spinal was in 1578
See more words from the same year