The spinal cord and its peripheral nerves are protected by the vertebral column, a stack of bones which surround and provide support. Between the vertebrae is a fluid-filled disk.
Updated by: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Daniel B. Hoch, PhD, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital.
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