Spinal cord

The spinal cord is nervous tissue inside the vertebral column that carries signals between the brain and the body and coordinates reflexes.

Ascending tract: A bundle of spinal nerve fibers that carries sensory information toward the brain. These pathways carry touch, pain, temperature, and position signals upward.
Vertebral column: The segmented bony framework of vertebrae that supports the trunk and protects the spinal canal. The cord lies within this protective canal, though it ends above the lowest vertebrae.
Spinal cord injury: Damage to the spinal cord that can impair movement, sensation, or autonomic function below the injury. Injury can interrupt pathways between the brain and body, with effects shaped by level and severity.
Brain: The central nervous-system organ within the skull that integrates information and coordinates bodily functions. The brain and cord are continuous, but only the brain lies within the skull.
Neural tube: The embryonic structure that develops into the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord forms from the caudal portion of this early structure.
Descending tract: A bundle of nerve fibers that carries signals from the brain toward the spinal cord. These pathways deliver commands that shape movement and spinal activity.
Meninges: Three connective-tissue membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. These membranes enclose and protect the spinal cord.
Spinal shock: A temporary loss of reflexes and other spinal functions below a severe acute cord injury. It can follow cord trauma before reflex activity returns or stabilizes.
Peripheral nervous system: Nerves and ganglia outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the central nervous system to the body. Spinal nerves belong to this system after they emerge from the cord.
Neurulation: The embryonic process that forms the neural tube from the developing ectoderm. This developmental process establishes the tissue that later becomes the cord.

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