spinal column

noun

: the axial skeleton of a vertebrate that consists of an articulated series of vertebrae which extend from the neck to the tail and protect the spinal cord

called also backbone, vertebral column

Synonyms

• backbone
• chine
• spine
• vertebral column

Examples of spinal column in a Sentence

a diagram of the spinal column

Recent Examples on the Web

In the embryo, pigment-producing cells emerge at the point where the spinal column will later develop. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2025

The team found that, in mice, the early development of the head and the peripheral nerves (those outside of the brain and spinal column) follows common patterns seen in other jawed vertebrates. —Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025

The team concluded that based on the spinal column, the combination of a great white build with the megalodon's much longer length would have simply proved too cumbersome. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2025

Symptoms usually begin as headache, nausea, vomiting and fever, but then can spread to neurological symptoms after the parasite leaves the bloodstream, enters muscle, migrates to peripheral nerves and into the spinal column and brain, doctors said. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 21 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1831, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for spinal column

• collum
• sholom
• slalom
• solemn

Kids Definition

spinal column

noun

: backbone sense 1

Medical Definition

spinal column

noun

: the articulated series of vertebrae connected by ligaments and separated by more or less elastic intervertebral fibrocartilages that in nearly all vertebrates forms the supporting axis of the body and a protection for the spinal cord and that extends from the hind end of the skull through the median dorsal part of the body to the coccyx or end of the tail

called also backbone, spine, vertebral column