It is approximately 18 inches long and runs from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to the waist. The spinal cord is made up of nerve fibers. These nerve fibers are responsible for the body's communication systems, which include sensory, motor, and autonomic functions. Sensory function means the ability to feel sensations, like pain. Motor function is the ability to voluntarily move your body.
Autonomic functions are involuntary body functions, like the ability to sweat and breathe.
Around the nerve fibers are protective bone segments called the vertebral column or the spinal column. A spinal cord injury is any injury of the nerve elements within the spinal cord. Most spinal cord injuries result from trauma to the vertebral column. This can effect the spinal cord's ability to send and receive messages from the brain to the parts of the body that control sensory, motor, and autonomic functions. The effect on the body depends on the location and severity of the spinal cord injury.