the.com/vertebral column
Thirty-three bones stacked in a trench coat, pretending to be one spine.
means The chain of linked bones running down your back that protects the spinal cord and holds your body upright.
from From Latin vertebra, 'joint' or 'turning point,' itself from vertere, 'to turn' — because these bones are literally what let your back twist and bend. Column comes straight from Latin columna, 'pillar,' the same word that gives us the stone columns holding up temples. Put together, the phrase is a Latin-rooted description doing exactly what it says: a pillar built from turning joints.
- curve count
- four curves, not a straight rod
- shock absorbers
- discs cushion every jump you regret
- tail reminder
- coccyx is your vestigial tail, unused
- nerve highway
- spinal cord runs through its hollow core