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.
Spinal tap can be used to sample the cerebrospinal fluid (for pathogenic infiltration perhaps). It can also be used as a method to reduce mild intracranial pressure caused by excess CSF (in the case of intracranial hypertension, for example). It is considered painful, the extent to which would be determined by individual pain threshold/tolerance.