Spinal cord

The spinal cord is the part of the central nervous system that is enclosed in and protected by the vertebral column. It consists of nerve cells and their connections (axons and dendrites), with both gray matter and white matter, with the former surrounded by the latter.

It originates in the medulla oblongata inside the skull and is wrapped in three layers of membranes, called meninges. It ends at the second lumbar vertebra.