Along with your brain, the spinal cord is an integral part of your nervous system. It runs through your spine and sends all the vital nerve signals so that your body can perform all the functions your brain instructs it to.
That’s not all. The spinal cord is so fascinating that we’re bringing you a list of the top things you didn’t know about the spinal cord.
1. It’s Independent
Even though your brain is the center of the nervous system, the spinal cord can sometimes act independently and send signals to other parts of the body when necessary. These are called involuntary movements, and they usually affect your bowels, bladder, and diaphragm.
2. Only Until Five
Once you turn five, your spinal cord stops growing! By this point it grows up to 20 inches long but then it stops. There is no particular reason for this, but it’s fascinating that it gets to its optimal size in the first few years of your life.
3. It Records Your Pain
When you get injured and suffer from great pain, the neurons in your spinal cord carry all the signals to the nerves of your injured area as if to make it more sensitive. By doing so, your spinal cord “records” all these instances of great pain.
4. Spinal Sweat
Among the most fascinating things you didn’t know about the spinal cord is the fact that you can’t really sweat without it. This is simply because it sends the signals to the sweat glands so that you can cool off when you’re feeling hot.
5. Damage Leads to Paralysis
If you get your spinal cord severed it will result in some sort of paralysis, be it complete or not. Electrical implants may sometimes help in regaining movement in paralyzed limbs and other parts of the body.
Conclusion
The things you didn’t know about the spinal cord are quite fascinating, don’t you think? We hope they have tickled your imagination to find out even more!
