{"id":3055,"date":"2020-12-13T21:24:13","date_gmt":"2020-12-13T19:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/neurohistology\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/"},"modified":"2020-12-13T22:10:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-13T20:10:53","slug":"spinal-cord-gross-anatomy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following lesson is a mere introduction\/revision to the anatomy of the spinal cord. Consult your teacher regarding the full information.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spinal cord itself is rather short, its length is approximately 45cm in adults; starting from the end of the medulla oblongata at the foramen magnum, reaching the T12-L2 spinal vertebrae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do spinal nerves reach the lower part of the body?<\/h4>\n<\/span>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The lower portion of the spine and spinal cord<\/strong> — Copyright \u00a9 Meddists.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we move downwards, the actual origin of the nerve fibers becomes more distant than the exit of the spinal nerve (at the intervertebral foramina). The nerve roots travel along the spinal cord to reach the appropriate level — as we go lower, they become longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the bottom of the spinal cord, we will find the conus medullaris<\/strong> — a cone-shaped ending of the spinal cord; the conus medullaris contains the final (coccygeal) fibers of the spinal cords called cauda equina <\/strong>(horsetail).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arising from the tip of the conus medullaris is the filum terminale<\/strong> — an embryological remnant, continuing downward and attaching to the tip of the coccyx, anchoring the spinal cord and its meninges.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

Clinical correlation<\/h4>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

Spinal disc herniation, most frequently at the L5-S1 segment may result in a syndrome by this name – cauda equina syndrome<\/strong>, where the spinal disc presses the nerve fibers resulting in lower limb paralysis, fecal and urine incontinence.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

The spinal cord itself is organized to 4-5 segments:<\/h4>\n<\/span>\n\n\n
  1. Cervical<\/li>
  2. Thoracic<\/li>
  3. Lumbar<\/li>
  4. Sacral<\/li>
  5. Coccygeal (absent in 50% of the population)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Some segments are more prominent than others and form enlargements (cervical<\/strong> and lumbosacral enlargements<\/strong>), in relationship to the innervation of the limbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    The spinal cord and its nerves<\/strong> — Public domain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is important to know the different parts that eventually form the spinal nerves, including where they begin and end:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Root<\/strong> — Coming out of the spinal cord itself, contains nerve fiber filaments that join together. From each spinal level, a pair of ventral and dorsal roots form on each side:
      1. The ventral roots generally contain motor fibers<\/li>
      2. The dorsal roots generally contain sensory fibers and a ganglion called the spinal ganglion<\/li><\/ol><\/li>
      3. Spinal nerve<\/strong> — Begins as both roots join to form a single nerve just before the intervertebral foramen. Contains both dorsal and ventral roots and is covered by CT (pia mater).<\/li>
      4. Rami<\/strong> — Shortly after the spinal nerve leaves the intervertebral foramen, it splits to anterior and posterior (ventral and dorsal) rami.<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/span>

        How do spinal nerves reach the lower part of the body?<\/h4>

        Clinical correlation<\/h4>

        The spinal cord itself is organized to 4-5 segments:<\/h4><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The following lesson is a mere introduction\/revision to the anatomy of the spinal cord. Consult your teacher regarding the full information. The spinal cord itself is rather short, its length is approximately 45cm in adults; starting from the end of the medulla oblongata at the foramen magnum, reaching the T12-L2 spinal vertebrae. How do spinal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"parent":3031,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3055","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nSpinal Cord Gross Anatomy – Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy – Meddists\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/spine-381x600.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-13T19:24:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-13T20:10:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/spine-381x600.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/spine-381x600.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pre-clinical\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Histology\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Nervous system\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Spinal Cord\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/histology\\\/nervous-system\\\/spinal-cord\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":6,\"name\":\"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/\",\"name\":\"Meddists\",\"description\":\"Let's Get Studying\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy – Meddists","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/","url":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/","name":"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy – Meddists","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/spine-381x600.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-13T19:24:13+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-13T20:10:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/spine-381x600.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/meddists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/spine-381x600.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/spinal-cord-gross-anatomy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pre-clinical","item":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Histology","item":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Nervous system","item":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Spinal Cord","item":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/histology\/nervous-system\/spinal-cord\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":6,"name":"Spinal Cord Gross Anatomy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/","name":"Meddists","description":"Let's Get Studying","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3055"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3094,"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3055\/revisions\/3094"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}