Overview

Spinal cord is located within the vertebrae of the backbone. It extends from brainstem
down to the first lumbar vertebra. It is roughly the width of a conventional pencil,
tapering at it base even thinner. It is comprised of a bundle of fibers, and the fibers are
long projections of nerve cells, extending from the base of the brain to the lower region
of the spine. The spinal cord carries information to and from the brain and all parts of the
body except the head, which is served by the cranial nerves. The signals that travel along
the spinal cord are known as nerve impulses. Data from the sensory organs in different
parts of the body is collected via the spinal nerves and transmitted along the spinal cord
to the brain. The spinal cord also sends motor information, such as movement commands,
from the brain out to the body, again transmitted via the spinal nerve network.

In terms of its anatomy, the spinal cord is constituted of what is known as white matter
and gray matter. The gray matter, which forms the core of the spinal cord, is composed
mainly of nerve cell bodies and forms an external look of a butterfly. The white matter
surrounds the gray matter and its nerve fibers play a significant role of establishing
connection between different parts of the spinal cord as well as between the brain and the spinal cord. The outer regions of white matter insulate the long projecting nerve fibers
(axons) coming out from the neurons.

In the gray matter of the spinal cord, there are numerous low-key nerve centers that can
perform certain fundamental movement responses. However, the nerve centers within the
spinal cord are regulated by the brain. The ability of the humans in consciously
controlling the bowl movement is an example in this regard. The fact that infants frequent
to toilets more often than the adults and that many have bedwetting problem is due to the
brain being not fully developed as well as lacking in control over urine. Thus, the spinal
cord serves as a pathway of connection between the brain, the rest of the body, and
internal organs. The spinal cord stays in contact with the majority of body organs through
the medium of nerves.