spinal
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of or relating to the spine or the spinal cord
-
denoting a laboratory animal in which the spinal cord has been severed
a spinal rat
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spinal
1570–80; < Late Latin spīnālis, equivalent to Latin spīn ( a ) spina + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Spinal describes the area of the backbone. Your spinal cord, which is protected by the vertebrae of the backbone, connects the brain and the body. A spinal injury is serious because it affects the body’s ability to move and function. The adjective spinal comes up often in medicine. Spinal fluid acts as a cushion for your brain and spine; a spinal tap is a special kind of test for evaluating this fluid. Doctors and nurses often refer to anesthesia that's injected into the spine simply as a spinal. The adjective has been around since the 16th century, from the Late Latin spinalis. "pertaining to a thorn or the spine."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The team also identified proteins in mice that carry itch signals from the hairs to the spinal cord through these neurons.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
MS is a condition that affects the brain and spinal cord, external, according to the NHS.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Medtronic is a key player in the $15 billion External link cranial and spinal technologies market.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
For years, doctors relied only on written memory tests, invasive spinal taps and expensive imaging to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
An MRI scan allows us to look inside a living person's head and see a slice of everything from the throat to the spinal cord.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
