The spinal column is the stack of small bones running down the center of your back from your skull to your hips. You might know it better as your backbone or spine. These bones, called vertebrae, fit together like carefully carved blocks, with cushiony discs between them that work like shock absorbers when you run, jump, or bend.

Your spinal column does two crucial jobs. First, it supports your entire upper body, letting you stand upright, twist, and bend in different directions. Second, it protects your spinal cord, a thick bundle of nerves running through a channel in the center of these bones. Your spinal cord carries messages between your brain and the rest of your body, so when you decide to wiggle your toes, that signal travels down through your spinal cord.

When doctors talk about someone injuring their spine, they're referring to the spinal column. These injuries can be serious because damage to the vertebrae might also affect the spinal cord inside.

The word vertebrate describes any animal with a spinal column: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish all have one. Animals without a spinal column, like insects and jellyfish, are called invertebrates.