How many pairs of spinal nerves are there?

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Multiple Choice

How many pairs of spinal nerves are there?

Explanation:
Spinal nerves come in pairs at each level of the spine, and the total adds up to 31 pairs. The breakdown is eight in the cervical region, twelve in the thoracic, five in the lumbar, five in the sacral, and one in the coccygeal region. The reason there are eight cervical nerves even though there are only seven cervical vertebrae is that the C8 nerve exits below the C7 vertebra, between C7 and T1, while the other cervical nerves exit above their corresponding vertebrae. The rest exit below the vertebra of the same number. So 8 + 12 + 5 + 5 + 1 equals 31 pairs. The other counts (29, 32, 33) don’t match this arrangement.

Spinal nerves come in pairs at each level of the spine, and the total adds up to 31 pairs. The breakdown is eight in the cervical region, twelve in the thoracic, five in the lumbar, five in the sacral, and one in the coccygeal region. The reason there are eight cervical nerves even though there are only seven cervical vertebrae is that the C8 nerve exits below the C7 vertebra, between C7 and T1, while the other cervical nerves exit above their corresponding vertebrae. The rest exit below the vertebra of the same number. So 8 + 12 + 5 + 5 + 1 equals 31 pairs. The other counts (29, 32, 33) don’t match this arrangement.

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