Anaesthesia Fundamentals | Anatomy | The spinal cord

The spinal cord
Session overview
Description
This session will look at the anatomy of the spinal cord.

Learning objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

• describe the structure of the spinal cord
• explain the major ascending and descending pathways
• describe the blood supply to the spinal cord

The spinal cord forms the extra-cranial portion of the central nervous system. In adults, it originates at the foramen magnum and terminates at the conus medullaris, between the 1st and 2nd lumbar vertebrae. Below this, the filum terminale attaches to the coccyx.

There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that emerge from the spinal cord (Figure 1):

• 8 cervical
• 12 thoracic
• 5 lumbar
• 5 sacral
• 1 coccygeal