spinal

adjective
spi·​nal | \ ˈspī-nᵊl How to pronounce spinal (audio) \

Definition of spinal

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or situated near the spinal column
2a : of, relating to, or affecting the spinal cord spinal reflexes
b : having the spinal cord functionally isolated (as by surgical section) from the brain experiments on spinal animals
3 : of, relating to, or resembling a spine

spinal

noun

Definition of spinal (Entry 2 of 2)

: a spinal anesthetic

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Examples of spinal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

But when patients entered his operating room for complex, routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead, victims piled up and two fellow surgeons and a young Assistant District Attorney set out to stop him. Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater cast in Dr. Death podcast adaptation series," 9 Aug. 2019 Drobot has said his companies never bought or used any knock-off screws or parts for spinal surgeries. Teri Sforza, The Mercury News, "California man behind $1 billion spinal surgery fraud hid millions from government, DOJ says," 29 July 2019 Service provider: Traxx Medical Holdings LLC, an Austin company that provides neuromonitoring during spinal surgery. Jon Hamilton, Dallas News, "Austin woman's spinal surgery brings back-breaking $94,000 bill a year later," 20 June 2019 According to People, Abby had an unusual spinal infection that spread from her neck to her lower back back, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Abby Lee Miller Reportedly Underwent Lifesaving Spinal Surgery," 19 Apr. 2018 But the group Cure SMA, which advocates for spinal muscular atrophy treatments, still hailed the treatment's approval. Arman Azad, CNN, "Company knew about manipulated data before FDA approved $2 million gene therapy, agency says," 7 Aug. 2019 Current methods of testing for amyloid, including taking samples of cerebrospinal fluid and PET imaging of the brain, are expensive, time consuming and, in the case of the spinal fluid samples, invasive. Alice Park, Time, "A New Alzheimer's Blood Test Proved 94% Accurate in Finding Brain Changes Related to the Disease," 1 Aug. 2019 Upward facing dog The final progression of the previous two exercises requires more spinal strength and flexibility to perform properly. Stephanie Mansour, NBC News, "7 energizing moves to replace your afternoon coffee habit," 31 July 2019 In one case, a patient had two procedures — a spinal fusion and laminectomy — in late 2017 and visited the emergency department in January 2018 because of back pain. Jessica Seaman, The Denver Post, "At least one death, “hundreds of severe infections” linked to Porter hospital’s use of contaminated surgical instruments, lawsuit alleges," 16 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

At 6 months old, Stevie Browning was diagnosed with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy — the most severe — and was predicted to live between eight months and two years, said his mother, Samantha Angell. Tessa Weinberg, chicagotribune.com, "Northwestern students give 'freedom' by retrofitting motorized cars for kids with disabilities," 1 July 2018 The drug, known as AVXS-101, could be approved for Type 1 spinal muscular atrophy by the end of this year, according to Wells Fargo’s Jim Birchenough, whose price target of $171 implies another 34 percent upside for the shares. Bailey Lipschultz, Bloomberg.com, "Biotech Stock Draws Skeptics Even as It Rallies to New Highs," 7 Mar. 2018 The report, published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, identified a major cause of miscarriages, in addition to heart, spinal, kidney and cleft palate problems in newborn babies. Rob Taylor, WSJ, "Spread the News: Vitamin B3 in Vegemite Prevents Some Birth Defects," 10 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spinal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of spinal

Adjective

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1944, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for spinal

spinal

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of spinal

: of, relating to, or affecting the spine

spinal

adjective
spi·​nal | \ ˈspī-nᵊl How to pronounce spinal (audio) \

Kids Definition of spinal

: of, relating to, or located near the backbone or the spinal cord a spinal injury

spinal

adjective
spi·​nal | \ ˈspīn-ᵊl How to pronounce spinal (audio) \

Medical Definition of spinal

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or situated near the spinal column
2a : of, relating to, or affecting the spinal cord spinal reflexes
b : having the spinal cord functionally isolated (as by surgical section) from the brain experiments on spinal animals
c : used for spinal anesthesia a spinal anesthetic
3 : made for or fitted to the spinal column a spinal brace

Other Words from spinal

spinally \ -​ē How to pronounce spinally (audio) \ adverb

spinal

noun

Medical Definition of spinal (Entry 2 of 2)

: a spinal anesthetic

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