What is a spinal cord injury? There are many misconceptions about spinal cord injuries, such as many people believe that the spinal cord below the injury site is dead after an injury. Others believe that a damaged spinal cord is like a severed telephone line that can be repaired by reconnecting the two broken ends. Still others believe that the spinal column is the spinal cord. Even many doctors have a wrong or inaccurate understanding of spinal cord injuries. For example, many doctors often use the term “transection” to refer to a severe spinal cord injury. This term should only be used in rare cases where the spinal cord is severed and the severed ends are separated.