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

Six years ago, I was going in for major surgery on a cyst on my spinal cord.

From BBC

He was diagnosed with meningitis -- an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

From Barron's

Zolgensma, an in vivo therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, launched at $2.1 million a dose—at the time the most expensive drug the FDA ever approved.

From The Wall Street Journal

There’s a belt squat machine, for people with shoulder impingement or spinal compression issues; a bilateral leg press which helps with imbalances; “specialty bars” which help avoid impact on the shoulders.

From Los Angeles Times

Uber’s lawsuit alleged that many patients underwent an unnecessary spinal fusion that takes months to recover from in order to get a larger settlement.

From Los Angeles Times

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