BIOLOGY REPORT

Anatomy
The spine is made up of vertebrae (back bones) that protect and surround
the spinal cord, which is a column of nerve tissue.

Spinal nerves branch out from the spinal cord. These are peripheral nerves,
or those that run through other parts of the body and transmit message to
and from the brain/spinal cord.

These nerves are located at the cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back),
lumbar (lower back), sacral (sacrum, which forms part of the pelvis), and
coccygeal (tailbone) levels.

Each pair of spinal nerves are dedicated to certain regions of the body.

Structure
The spinal nerves are relatively large nerves that are formed by the merging
of two nerve roots: a sensory nerve root and a motor nerve root.

Sensory nerve roots emerge from the back of the spinal cord and the motor
nerve roots from the front of the spinal cord. As they join, they form the
spinal nerves on the sides of the spinal cord.

The spinal cord is composed of nerve cells that serve to relay messages
between the brain and the peripheral nerves.

The spinal nerves receive sensory messages from tiny nerves located in
areas such as the skin, internal organs, and bones. The spinal nerves send
sensory messages to the sensory roots, then to sensory fibers in the
posterior (back or dorsal) part of the spinal cord.

The motor roots receive nerve messages from the anterior (front or ventral)
part of the spinal cord and send the nerve messages to the spinal nerves.
These messages eventually make their way to small nerve branches that
activate muscles in the arms, legs, and other areas of the body.

There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves:2

 Eight cervical spinal nerves on each side of the spine called C1 through C8
 Twelve thoracic spinal nerves in each side of the body called T1 through
T12
 Five lumbar spinal nerves on each side called L1 through L5
 Five sacral spinal nerves in each side called S1 through S5
 One coccygeal nerve on each side called Co1

Location
Spinal nerves are distributed about evenly along the spinal cord and spine.
Each spinal nerve exits the spine by traveling through the foramen, which
are openings at the right and left sides of the vertebrae.
The spinal nerves are formed within a few centimeters of the spine on each
side. Some groups of spinal nerves merge with each other to form a large
plexus, or network of interlacing nerves. Other spinal nerves divide into
smaller branches without forming a plexus.

There are five main plexi formed by the spinal nerves:

 Cervical plexus: Composed of the merging of spinal nerves C1 through C5,

these divide into smaller nerves that carry sensory messages and provide
motor control to the muscles of the neck and shoulders.
 Brachial plexus: Formed by the merging of spinal nerves C5 through T1,
this plexus branches into nerves that carry sensory messages and provide
motor control to the muscles of the arm and upper back.
 Lumbar plexus: Spinal nerves L1 through L4 converge to form the lumbar
plexus. This plexus splits into nerves that carry sensory messages and
provide motor control to the muscles of the abdomen and leg.
 Sacral plexus: Spinal nerves L4 through S4 join together. They then branch
out into nerves that carry sensory messages and provide motor control to the
muscles of the legs.
 Coccygeal plexus: The merging of nerves S4 through Co1, this plexus
supplies motor and sensory control of the genitalia and the muscles that
control defecation.

Anatomic Variation
There are numerous described variants of spinal nerve anatomy, such as
roots from multiple spinal nerves connecting, early splits in nerve branches,
or missing branches.2 These are generally discovered during surgery for an
injury to the spine, spinal cord, or spinal nerve, or testing done in
preparation for such a procedure.
A 2017 study evaluating the spinal nerve anatomy of 33 deceased people
identified spinal nerve plexus variants in 27.3% of them. 3 This suggests that
variation is not uncommon and that it doesn’t commonly produce noticeable
problems.

Function
The spinal nerves have small sensory and motor branches. Each of the spinal
nerves carries out functions that correspond to a certain region of the body.
These are muscle movement, sensation, and autonomic
functions (involuntary functions).
Because their function is so well understood, when a particular spinal nerve
becomes impaired, the resulting deficit often pinpoints which spinal nerve or
nerves are affected.
Motor
Motor messages to the spinal nerves originate in the brain. The motor strip
(homunculus) in the brain initiates a command for muscle control. This
command is sent to the spine through nerve impulses and then travels
through the motor root to the spinal nerve.

Motor stimulation is very specific. It may activate the whole spinal nerve or
just one of its branches to stimulate a very small group of muscles,
depending on the command from the brain.

Myotomes, groups of muscles supplied with nerves from a spinal nerve root,
are areas of spinal nerve control distribution throughout the body.
Each physical movement requires one or more muscles, which is activated
by a spinal nerve branch. For example, the biceps muscle is controlled by C6
and the triceps muscle is controlled by C7.

Autonomic
The autonomic, or involuntary, function of spinal nerves helps control the
body’s internal organs, such as the bladder and the intestines.

There are fewer autonomic branches of the spinal nerves than there are the
motor and sensory branches.

Sensory
The spinal nerves receive messages including touch, temperature, position,
vibration, and pain from the small nerves in the skin, muscles, joints, and
internal organs of the body.

Each spinal nerve corresponds to a skin region of the body, described as

a dermatome. For example, sensation near the belly button is sent to T10;
sensation from the hand is sent to C6, C7, and C8. 4

The sensory dermatomes do not match up perfectly with the motor

myotomes.