spinal

American  

[spahyn-l] / ˈspaɪn l /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to a spine or thornlike structure, especially to the backbone.

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noun

1. Medicine/Medical.  a spinal anesthetic.

spinal British  

/ ˈspaɪnəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the spine or the spinal cord

2. denoting a laboratory animal in which the spinal cord has been severed

   a spinal rat

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noun

1. short for spinal anaesthesia

Other Word Forms

• interspinal adjective
• nonspinal adjective
• prespinal adjective
• spinally adverb

Etymology

Origin of spinal

1570–80; < Late Latin spīnālis, equivalent to Latin spīn ( a ) spina + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The new version, which Novartis will sell under the brand name Itvisma, is approved for spinal muscular atrophy patients aged 2 and older.

From Barron's

These overstimulated immune cells then move toward the dorsal root ganglia -- the sensory nerve hubs that link the limbs to the spinal cord -- and release inflammatory compounds that irritate and damage nerves.

From Science Daily

He shakes his fists and jerks his legs in a manner suggesting a rare uncontrollable muscle spasm induced by a live electric wire arbitrarily applied to the spinal column.

From Salon

Although traditional practitioners sometimes add a step in which the spinal cord is destroyed, Poseidon just does the first steps of the ikejime technique.

From Los Angeles Times

"If I'd have got a vest on when I was attacked, I would not have received the serious injury I did to my back - it narrowly missed my spinal cord."

From BBC

Related Words

• opiate