verb (used with object), mortified, mortifying. 1. to humiliate or shame, as by injury to one's pride or self-respect. 2. to subjugate (the body, passions, etc.) by abstinence, ascetic discipline, or self-inflicted suffering. 3. Pathology. to affect with gangrene or necrosis. verb (used without object), mortified, mortifying.
spinal tap noun. plural spinal taps. spinal tap. noun. plural spinal taps. Learner's definition of SPINAL TAP. [count] medical. : a procedure in which a needle is inserted into the spinal cord in order to take out fluid or inject medicine.
There are two different types of spinal taps: a cisternal tap and a lumbar tap. To perform a cisternal tap, the back top of the neck is shaved and sterilized. A spinal needle is inserted at the base of the skull, and into the spinal column, penetrating the dura mater and arachnoid membranes to the subarachnoid space.