What Is a Spinal Chord?

Your spinal chord, or spinal column, a column of bones that runs from your brain all the way down your back. Not only do these bones, or vertebrae, support you body, but they also house nerve cells which carry messages on their way to and from your brain.

These vertebrae are held in place by strong tissue, called ligaments, but sometimes a severe accident can fracture these vertebrae and cause a person to become paralyzed.