Spinal nerves emerge from the spinal cord and transmit signals between the spinal cord and different body regions. There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves - 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal pair. The cervical and thoracic nerves exit the vertebral column below their corresponding vertebra, while lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal nerves exit below due to the spinal cord ending higher. Each spinal nerve consists of a dorsal root containing sensory neurons and a ventral root containing motor neurons, making them a mixed nerve.