It carries signals between the brain and the body. The spinal cord is protected by the bones of the spine, called vertebrae. Vertebrae are stacked on top of each other. A tunnel goes through the bones. The spinal cord and nerves go from the brain to the tailbone in this tunnel.
Nerves branch off from the spinal cord between each of the bones of the spine.
Spinal cord trauma occurs when that protection is damaged. There are probable many injuries that cause death. Of these 10,000 injuries, half result in paraplegia and half in quadriplegia. The most common age at the time of injury is 19 years old. Sports produce a special set of risk statistics.