vertebra
- any of the bones or segments composing the spinal column, consisting typically of a cylindrical body and an arch with various processes, and forming a foramen, or opening, through which the spinal cord passes.
Origin of vertebra
Related Words for vertebrae
spine, foundation, vertebrae, bone, support, base, basis, ridge, back, rachis, chine, backbone, rhachisExamples from the Web for vertebrae
Contemporary Examples of vertebrae
Doctors around the world drive them into the vertebrae of patients with devastating back injuries.
You see, the spine is a row of vertebrae that was designed to be horizontal.
They reportedly got back together a few months later after Soffer injured his vertebrae in a helicopter crash.
Elle Macpherson Remarries; "Bling Ring" Copycats Attempt to Rob Paris HiltonThe Fashion Beast Team
August 5, 2013
Historical Examples of vertebrae
Its flesh is delicate and firm, and with the exception of the vertebrae, has no long bones.
The Call Of The SouthLouis Becke
Then it fell, shearing through the scales and flesh and vertebrae.
The Devil in IronRobert E. Howard
The skull, pelvis, and most vertebrae, as well as the sternum of this form are unknown.
Extinct BirdsWalter Rothschild
Ribs are often wanting and when present are often not separated off from the vertebrae.
The Vertebrate SkeletonSidney H. Reynolds
The vertebrae are amphicoelous, and are generally well ossified.
The Vertebrate SkeletonSidney H. Reynolds
vertebra
- one of the bony segments of the spinal column
Word Origin for vertebra
Word Origin and History for vertebrae
vertebra
1610s, from Latin vertebra "joint or articulation of the body, joint of the spine" (plural vertebræ), perhaps from vertere "to turn" (see versus) + instrumental suffix -bra. The notion is of the spine as the "hinge" of the body.
vertebra
(vûr′tə-brə)- Any of the bones or cartilaginous segments of the spinal column, usually 33 in number.
vertebra
- Any of the bones that make up the vertebral column. Each vertebra contains an arched, hollow section through which the spinal cord passes. In humans, the vertebrae are divided into cervical, thoracic, and lumbar sections, and the sacrum and coccyx are both made up of a series of fused vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated by cartilaginous intervertebral disks. See more at skeleton.