vertebral canal [L, vertebra, joint, canalis] , the passage formed anterior to the vertebral arches and posterior to the vertebral bodies and occupied by the spinal cord. The vertebral canal courses within the vertebral column and contains the spinal cord. The canal is formed by the posterior arches of the vertebrae and is large and triangular in the cervical and lumbar sections of the column, the most flexible parts. The canal is small and rounded in the thoracic region, where motion is more restricted.
