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Glite Dictionary
vertebral arch

vertebral arch

8.3
Curved bony part at the back of a spine bone that protects the spinal cord
  • noun
  • /ˈvɜrtəbrəl ɑrtʃ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : arco vertebral
  • The surgeon examined the vertebral arch to ensure there were no fractures after the injury.

Examples

  • In the human spine, each vertebra has a vertebral arch that surrounds the spinal canal.

  • And the vertebrae, the vertebral arches, the bones will form around that.

  • The vertebral arch provides essential support and protection for the spinal cord.

Synonyms

neural arch
vsvertebral arch
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Curved bony part at the back of a spine bone that surrounds the spinal cord

has identical meaning but uses an alternative anatomical name

Surface Forms

vertebral arch singular
vertebral arches plural

Morphology

vertebral + arch

The noun 'vertebral arch' is a compositional term: 'vertebral' specifies the spine/vertebrae and 'arch' denotes an arched structural form, so the phrase straightforwardly refers to an arch-like part of a vertebra that protects the spinal cord. This anatomical naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows normal noun + modifier composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Vertebral arch comes from the image of the back part of each vertebral bone forming an arch, like a small bridge or roof over the spinal cord. That's why the name shows how it 'protects' the spinal cord.