Spinal nerves

31 pairs of nerves originate on the spinal cord, known as spinal nerves. All spinal nerves are mixed nerves, meaning that they carry both sensory and motor information. Spinal nerves are named by the region where they originate and a number:

  • The cervical region has 8 pairs of spinal nerves called C1 - C8
  • The thoracic region has 12 pairs of spinal nerves called T1 - T12
  • The lumbar region has 5 pairs of spinal nerves called L1 - L5
  • The sacral region has 5 pairs of spinal nerves called S1 - S5
  • There is one pair of coccygeal nerves called C0

Each spinal nerve originates on the spinal cord as spinal nerve roots, called ventral and dorsal roots. These spinal nerve roots unite close to the spinal cord to form a spinal nerve. Perhaps surprisingly, spinal nerves are very short, only about 1-2 centimeters long before it divides into two branches known as rami.

Figure 1: Spinal nerves