MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Y.I. Fedoniuk 2010

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY

SECTION 3. ANATOMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF BODY FUNCTION SELF-REGULATION

FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

SPINAL NERVES

Functionally, a spinal nerve is a mixed nerve. There are 31 pairs of these nerves, which corresponds to the number of Spinal Cord segments: 8 cervical pairs, 12 thoracic pairs, 5 lumbar pairs, 5 sacral pairs, and 1 coccygeal pair. Thus, a single pair of Spinal Nerves emerges from each segment. Upon exiting the intervertebral foramen, each spinal nerve divides into branches: 1) the anterior (ventral) branch, supplying the anterior trunk wall and limbs; 2) the posterior (dorsal) branch, supplying the Skin and Muscles of the back and occiput; 3) the white communicating ramus, connecting to the Sympathetic trunk ganglia; and 4) the meningeal branch, supplying the spinal Meninges.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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