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Glite Dictionary
spinal nerve

spinal nerve

1 4.1
A thin body part that sends messages between the spinal cord and a body area
  • noun
  • /ˈspaɪnəl nɜrv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nervio espinal
  • The spinal nerves transmit signals between the spinal cord and the rest of the body.
  • sacral spinal nerve
  • spinal nerve root
  • pressure on the spinal nerve

So your brain sends signals from your brain down your spinal cord, out your spinal nerves, out to every cell, organ and tissue in your body.

Examples

  • So then the spinal nerves here must be mixed sensory and motor input and output.

  • And so there you see the spinal nerves in a dissection of a young human.

  • Some spinal nerves travel down the vertebral column before exiting.

    Academic text (2005)

  • This is a safety measure because spinal nerve distraction increases the risks for disruption of nerve pathways.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The spinal nerves exit from the spinal cord and extend laterally through the vertebral foramen to innervate the body.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Damage to the spinal nerves can lead to loss of sensation in various parts of the body.

  • Doctors often assess the function of spinal nerves to determine the cause of back pain.

Synonyms

nerve
vsspinal nerve
  • Specialized
367 3.5

A bundle of fibers that carries messages between the brain and body

refers specifically to paired nerves emerging from the spinal cord
nervus spinalis
vsspinal nerve
  • Specialized
8.2

A nerve from the spinal cord that carries messages to and from the body

is the common term rather than the technical Latin name

Surface Forms

spinal nerve singular
spinal nerves plural

Morphology

spinal + nerve

The meaning 'any nerve associated with the spinal cord' is directly and transparently composed from 'spinal' (relating to the spine/spinal cord) + 'nerve' (bundle of nerve fibers). This adjective+noun construction follows a standard semantic composition pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The term spinal nerve comes from a simple picture: spinal points to the spine and nerve is like a thin wire that 'sends messages' between the spine and the body. So a spinal nerve is a nerve that comes from the spine and helps control feeling and movement.