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.
In this article. A spinal tap, also called lumbar puncture, is a procedure in which the fluid surrounding the spinal cord and the brain (called the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF) is withdrawn through a needle and examined in a lab. The cerebrospinal fluid circulates around the brain and spinal cord.