Spinal CordIsaac Lee 38Aldric Tan 44

What is the spinal cord?

• The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain.

Functions of the Spinal Cord

• Serves as a conduit for motor information, which travels down the spinal cord.

• Serves as a conduit for sensory information, which travels up the spinal cord.

• Serves as a center for coordinating certain reflexes.

The spinal cord is basically the "information highway of the body", messages are sent back and forth between the brain and the rest of the body. This information includes touch, temperature, pain, joint position and signals telling muscles to move.

Parts of the Spinal Cord

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5 Parts of the Spinal Cord

•1.)Cervical- the main function of the cervical spine is to support the weight of the head (about 10 pounds).

•2.)Thoracic- The main function of the thoracic spine is to protect the organs of the chest by providing attachment for the rib cage.

3.) Lumbar- The main function of the lumbar spine is to bear the weight of the body.

4.) Sacral- The main function of the sacrum is to provide attachment for the iliac (hip) bones and protect the pelvic organs.

• 5.) Coccyx- the four fused bones of the coccyx or tailbone don’t really have a function. It is an embryology remnant of a tail from our primate ancestors.

Diseases

The spinal cord can be damaged in many ways, producing various symptoms, depending on the location, or level, of spinal cord damage. The spinal cord can be cut in an accident, compressed, destroyed by infection, damaged when its blood supply is cut off, or affected by diseases (such as spinal cord cysts, cervical spondylosis, or multiple sclerosis) that alter its nerve function.

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