Definition

• noun: one of the small bones that are linked together to form the backbone
• noun: one of the bony or cartilaginous segments composing the spinal column, consisting in some lower 'vertebrates' of several distinct elements which never become united, and in higher vertebrates having a short more or less cylindrical body whose ends articulate by pads of elastic or cartilaginous tissue with those of adjacent 'vertebrae' and a bony arch that encloses the spinal cord