spinal nerve

n. Any of the 31 pairs of nerves that originate in the gray matter of the spinal cord and emerge from between the vertebrae containing both afferent and efferent fibers for the skeletal muscles, the skin, and the autonomic nervous system. The spinal nerves are numbered from the top with 8 pairs emerging at the cervical level, 12 pairs at the thoracic level, 5 pairs at the lumbar level, 5 pairs in the sacrum, and 1 in the coccyx.