What is the spinal nerves?
The nervi spinales is called the spinal nerves. Gray’s Anatomy (1918) describes it as follows: The spinal nerves spring from the medulla spinalis, and are transmitted through the intervertebral foramina.
What it is
- The spinal nerves spring from the medulla spinalis, and are transmitted through the intervertebral foramina. They number thirty-one pairs, which are grouped as follows: Cervical, 8; Thoracic, 12; Lumbar, 5; Sacral, 5; Coccygeal, 1. The first cervical nerve emerges from the vertebral canal between the occipital bone and the atlas, and is therefore called the suboccipital nerve; the eighth issues between the seventh cervical and first thoracic vertebræ. Nerve Roots.
- —Each nerve is attached to the medulla spinalis by two roots, an anterior or ventral, and a posterior or dorsal, the latter being characterized by the presence of a ganglion, the spinal ganglion.
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Last verified: 2026-07-18
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