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.
Your brain and spinal cord are bathed in fluid. A spinal tap, also called a lumbar puncture, is a procedure doctors use to remove and test some of this liquid, called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It helps them diagnose disorders of the brain and spinal cord, including multiple sclerosis.