SPINE

Commonly, a reference to the bony building blocks of bone (vertebral column) surrounding and protecting the spinal cord. The spine can be categorized according to level of the body, i.e., cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper and mid-back), and lumbar spine (low back). A spine also refers to a short prominence of bone. It is the spines of the vertebrae that we can feel protruding at the base of the back of our neck and in the middle of our backs. These spines protect our spinal cord from injury from behind.