vertebrae

ver*te*bra

noun

{bc}one of the bony or cartilaginous segments composing the spinal column, consisting in some lower {a_link|vertebrates} of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent {a_link|vertebrae} and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord