spinal cord
- noun
- /ˈspaɪnəl kɔrd/
- Specialized
- The spinal cord transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body.
- spinal cord injury
- spinal cord injury (SCI)
- spinal cord-injured individuals
Break the neck, sever the spinal cord, and death results.
- Break the neck, sever the spinal cord, and death results.
- It's all interlinked through the spinal cord.
- Shot, stabbed and his spinal cord severed.
- That's a specialised cell in the brain that's really important in repair processes of the spinal cord and the brain.
- Meaning like you do have connections in your muscles from the nerves that are from your spinal cord.
- And when the bones compress on that Jelly doughnut and the disc goes up into the spinal cord, it can cause a whole bunch of problems.
- And we've done a lot of work on developing a system for stimulating the spinal cord itself.
- So did you know that your spinal cord doesn't go all the way down your back in the lower back?
- And as it moved up my spinal cord, it was getting louder.
Examples
-
He has a complete spinal cord injury.
-
Resveratrol-induced protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury has been documented in both the spinal cord and the brain.
Academic text (2008) -
The central nervous system is... ...your brain and your spinal cord.
-
But little did I know I had a spinal cord injury and mom and dad are in the stands.
-
And as it moved up my spinal cord, it was getting louder.
-
Since he has a spinal cord injury, that doesn't happen.
-
We can now bypass the spinal cord and connect the brain directly to the muscles of our body.
-
There was a complete transection of the spinal cord.
-
The rescued person does not have brain damage, and the spinal cord was spared.
Fiction book (1999) -
Hospital care for a quadriplegic patient with spinal cord injury costs nearly $24,000 a month.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
The part of the nervous system inside the spine that carries messages between the brain and the body
How Big
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
spinal + cord
The term is compositionally built: 'spinal' means relating to the spine and 'cord' denotes a cord-like structure, so together they straightforwardly describe the nerve cord associated with the spine. This anatomical, literal combination is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Spinal cord gives a clear picture: spinal means 'of the spine' and a cord is like a thin rope that runs down the back. This rope-like group of nerves carries signals between the brain and the body, so the name explains the nerve part inside the spine.