How to Say "Spinal Cord" in Spanish

médula espinal

/ˌmedula espiˈnal/feminine

The English phrase "spinal cord" is translated into Spanish as médula espinal.

médula espinal refers to the thick, whitish cord of nerve tissue.

Meaning: thick, whitish cord of nerve tissue (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The term is composed of médula, meaning marrow or pith and espinal, meaning spinal, so it literally translates to "spinal marrow".

The noun is feminine, so it is used with the feminine article la to say "the spinal cord" (la médula espinal).

/ˌmedula espiˈnal/

Do not confuse médula espinal (spinal cord) with médula ósea, which means "bone marrow".

The word espinal comes from espina, which means both 'spine' and 'thorn'. A rose thorn and a human vertebrae are described using the same root word.
Spanish uses the same word médula for both the spinal cord and the pith of a plant stem.
In colloquial Spanish, the word meollo is used to describe the most complex part of a problem, as in el meollo del asunto, meaning 'the heart of the matter'.

Después del accidente automovilístico, tuve una lesión en la médula espinal.
After the car accident, I had a spinal cord injury.
La médula espinal transmite las señales nerviosas.
The spinal cord transmits nerve signals.
El médico examinó la médula espinal del paciente.
The doctor examined the patient's spinal cord.
Hay un daño en la médula espinal.
There is damage to the spinal cord.

Lucía and Alejandro are studying anatomy together.

Lucía

Mira el dibujo de la médula espinal.
Look at the drawing of the spinal cord.
Alejandro

Sí, es una parte vital del sistema nervioso.
Yes, it is a vital part of the nervous system.
Lucía

¿Sabes cómo proteger la médula espinal?
Do you know how to protect the spinal cord?
Alejandro

Usando equipo de seguridad al hacer deporte.
By using safety equipment when playing sports.

Sources

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