How do spinal nerves exit the spinal cord?
1 Answer
The spinal cord is extremely important to the overall function of the nervous system.
It is the major communication link between the brain and the PNS (spinal nerves) inferior to the head; it participates in the integration of incoming information and produces responses through reflex mechanisms.
The spinal cord gives rise to 31 pairs of spinal nerves, which exit the vertebral column through intervertebral and sacral foramina.
Spinal nerves arise from numerous rootlets along the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the spinal cord. The rootlets combine to form a ventral root and a dorsal root at each segment of the cord.
The ventral and dorsal roots extend laterally from the spinal cord, passing through the subarachnoid space, piercing the arachnoid mater and dura mater, and joining one another to form a spinal nerve.
