Spinal Nerves

The nerves connected to the spinal cord are known as **spinal nerves**. The arrangement of these nerves is much more regular than that of the cranial nerves. Each spinal nerve comprises both sensory and motor axons, which separate into two nerve roots. Sensory axons enter the spinal cord through the dorsal nerve root. Motor fibers, both somatic and autonomic types, exit through the ventral nerve root. Each dorsal root ganglion, an enlargement along the spinal nerve, contains the sensory neuron cell bodies. There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, each named according to its point of origin along the spinal cord. This includes eight pairs of cervical nerves (C1 to C8), twelve pairs of thoracic nerves (T1 to T12), five pairs of lumbar nerves (L1 to L5), five pairs of sacral nerves (S1 to S5), and one pair of coccygeal nerves. *LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS CC licensed content, Shared previously, 13.4 The Peripheral Nervous System, Authored by: OpenStax College. License: CC BY: Attribution. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/FPtK1zmh@6.23:5QEuK48_@4/The-Peripheral-Nervous-System*