Spine

Descriptions of Spine

Spine: The bones, muscles, tendons, and other tissues that reach from the base of the skull to the tailbone. The spine encloses the spinal cord and the fluid surrounding the spinal cord. Also called backbone, spinal column, and vertebral column.
Source: National Institute of Health

Spine: the series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord; "the fall broke his back"
Source: WordNet 2.1

Spine : column of bones and cartilage that extends from the base of the skull to the pelvis, enclosing and protecting the spinal cord and supporting the trunk and head.
Source: CRISP

Spine : The spinal or vertebral column.
Source: MESH OBO (Open Biomedical Ontologies)

Article Excerpts about Spine

The spine is a column of 26 bones that extend in a line from the base of the skull to the pelvis (see fig. 1 ). Twenty-four of the bones are called vertebrae. The bones of the spine include 7 cervical vertebrae in the neck; 12 thoracic vertebrae at the back wall of the chest; 5 lumbar vertebrae at the inward curve (small) of the lower back; the sacrum, composed of 5 fused vertebrae between the hip bones; and the coccyx, composed of 3 to 5 fused bones at the lower tip of the vertebral column. The vertebrae link to each other and are cushioned by shock-absorbing disks that lie between them.

The vertebral column provides the main support for the upper body, allowing humans to stand upright or bend and twist, and it protects the spinal cord from injury. Following are structures of the spine most involved in spinal stenosis.

• Intervertebral disks--pads of cartilage between vertebrae that act as shock absorbers.
  
  

• Facet joints--joints located on both sides and on the top and bottom of each vertebra. They connect the vertebrae to each other and permit back motion.
  
  

• Intervertebral foramen (also called neural foramen)--an opening between vertebrae through which nerves leave the spine and extend to other parts of the body.
  
  

• Lamina--part of the vertebra at the upper portion of the vertebral arch that forms the roof of the canal through which the spinal cord and nerve roots pass.
  
  

• Ligaments--elastic bands of tissue that support the spine by preventing the vertebrae from slipping out of line as the spine moves. A large ligament often involved in spinal stenosis is the ligamentum flavum, which runs as a continuous band from lamina to lamina in the spine.
  
  

• Pedicles--narrow stem-like structures on the vertebrae that form the walls of the bottom part of the vertebral arch.
  
  
  

• Spinal cord/nerve roots--a major part of the central nervous system that extends from the base of the brain down to the lower back and that is encased by the vertebral column. It consists of nerve cells and bundles of nerves. The cord connects the brain to all parts of the body via 31 pairs of nerves that branch out from the cord and leave the spine between vertebrae (see fig. 2 ).
  
  

• Synovium--a thin membrane that produces fluid to lubricate the facet joints, allowing them to move easily.
  
  

• Vertebral arch--a circle of bone around the canal through which the spinal cord passes. It is composed of a floor at the back of the vertebra, walls (the pedicles), and a ceiling where two laminae join.