vertebra

[vur-tuh-bruh] /ˈvɜr tə brə/

noun, plural vertebrae

[vur-tuh-bree, -brey] /ˈvɜr təˌbri, -ˌbreɪ/ (Show IPA), vertebras. Anatomy, Zoology

any of the bones or segments composing the spinal column, consisting typically of a cylindrical body and an arch with various processes, and forming a foramen, or opening, through which the spinal cord passes.

Origin

1570-80; < Latin: (spinal) joint, equivalent to verte(re) to turn (see verse) + -bra noun suffix

Examples from the web for vertebra

At the end of the animal's tail, a series of plates were fused together and held aloft by tail vertebra fused together.
In a compression fracture of the vertebrae, the bone tissue of the vertebra collapses.
By six days, only an occasional vertebra or hind leg remains within the snake's stomach.
The junction between the body of the sternum and the xiphoid process is on the level of the tenth thoracic vertebra.
Behind it are the transverse process of the seventh cervical vertebra, the sympathetic trunk and its inferior cervical ganglion.
At birth the vertebra consists of three pieces, the body and the halves of the vertebral arch.

British Dictionary definitions for vertebra

vertebra

/ˈvɜːtɪbrə/

noun (pl) -brae (-briː), -bras

one of the bony segments of the spinal column

Derived Forms

vertebral, adjective
vertebrally, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from Latin: joint of the spine, from vertere to turn

Word Origin and History for vertebra

1610s, from Latin vertebra "joint or articulation of the body, joint of the spine" (plural vertebræ), perhaps from vertere "to turn" (see versus) + instrumental suffix -bra. The notion is of the spine as the "hinge" of the body.

vertebra in Medicine

vertebra ver·te·bra (vûr'tə-brə)
n. pl. ver·te·bras or ver·te·brae (-brā', -brē')
Any of the bones or cartilaginous segments of the spinal column, usually 33 in number.

vertebra in Science

vertebra

(vûr'tə-brə)
Plural vertebrae (vûr'tə-brā', -brē') or vertebras
Any of the bones that make up the vertebral column. Each vertebra contains an arched, hollow section through which the spinal cord passes. In humans, the vertebrae are divided into cervical, thoracic, and lumbar sections, and the sacrum and coccyx are both made up of a series of fused vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated by cartilaginous intervertebral disks. See more at skeleton.