Spine Means Thorn
Spinal relates to the backbone. The Latin word spina meant a thorn, which is also why a hedgehog has spines and a book has a spine.
Spinal describes anything to do with the backbone. Latin *spina* meant a thorn, and the spine got its name from the sharp processes that stick out along the vertebrae — the bumps you can feel down someone's back. A hedgehog's spines, a cactus's spines and the spine of a book are all named on the same principle.
- Of the backbone. *A spinal injury.*
- Spinal cord — the nerve bundle inside it. *Spinal cord damage.*
- Spinal tap — a lumbar puncture. *A spinal tap for diagnosis.*
- Spineless — lacking courage. *A spineless response.*
- Spine — the back of a book. *The title on the spine.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | spinal | Spinal surgery. |
| Noun | spine | A curved spine. |
| Plural | spines | Cactus spines. |
| Adjective | spiny | A spiny shrub. |
| Adjective | spineless | A spineless creature. |
- The fall caused a spinal fracture.Medicine.
- The spine of the book was cracked.Bookbinding.
- A shiver ran down my spine.Fixed image.
The human spine in numbers
- Thirty-three vertebrae at birth, fusing to about twenty-six in adults
- Five regions — cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal
- Seven cervical vertebrae — the same number in a giraffe as in a human
- The cord ends around the first or second lumbar vertebra
- That is why a lumbar puncture is taken low, below the end of the cord
Latin *spinalis*, from *spina*, a thorn or spine. English took the adjective in the 1400s through medical Latin.
Why is the back of a book called a spine?
Because it runs the length of the book and holds it together, as a backbone does. The image is straightforward.
Do giraffes have more neck vertebrae than humans?
No. Almost all mammals have seven cervical vertebrae; a giraffe's are simply much longer.