Injuries to the Spinal Cord
Posted on 07. Aug, 2009 by Attorney in Probate Law
Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury can be a devastating and life-changing injury that can lead to permanent disability and paralysis, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, and tetraplegia. Paraplegia is a spinal cord injury that affects the lower body only; quadriplegia and tetraplegia affect most of the body.
Anatomy of the Spinal Cord
To fully understand a spinal cord injury, it is important to understand the anatomy of the spinal cord and central nervous system. The central nervous system is comprised of the spinal cord and the brain. The spinal cord runs around 15 to 17 inches from the brain’s base to the waist and is made up of nerve fibers that relay messages from the brain, and back to the brain. These same nerve fibers are connected to nerve roots between the vertebrae in your back. There are thirty-three vertebrae that literally surround your spinal cord. From their location in the spine, nerve fibers feed into peripheral nerves that control your body’s movements.
