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.
One test for epilepsy is a spinal tap -- also called a lumbar puncture -- that is performed by withdrawing fluid surrounding the spinal cord (called the cerebrospinal fluid or CSF) and examining it in a lab. This procedure may be performed to: Measure the pressure around the brain and spinal cord.