One of the roots that forms a spinal nerve. Sends sensory information from the body to the spinal cord. 

Dorsal Root

Nerves that branch from the spine are divided into two functional types. Sensory nerves are responsible for transmitting incoming messages from the body to the spinal cord, while motor nerves carry outgoing commands from the spinal cord to the body's muscles and organs.

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There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that branch out from the spine at regularly spaced intervals corresponding to the vertebrae. Each nerve consists of two functional branches, or roots, and serves as a conduit for both incoming sensory information and outgoing motor commands. The spine is also categorized in five segments
- cervical (neck)
- thoracic (trunk)
- lumbar (lower back)
- sacral (pelvic)
- coccygeal (bottom)

Spinal Nerves

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

One of the roots that forms a spinal nerve. Sends motor information from the spinal cord to the muscles. 

Ventral Root

Sensory vs. Motor Nerves in the Spinal System

Considering that a single spinal nerve serves a specific, narrow region of the body, explain how damage to just one of these nerves could result in both a loss of sensation *and* an inability to move muscles in the same area.

Spinal Nerve Injury Analysis

Based on the following case study, identify which segment of the spine has most likely sustained an injury affecting the spinal nerves and explain your reasoning.

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