How to Pronounce Sacrum

Say it like this: SAY-krum. The first syllable rhymes with 'say,' and the second syllable sounds like 'krum.' The stress falls on the first syllable, so you say it a bit louder and longer than the second part.

Many people stress the second syllable and say 'suh-KRUM,' but that's incorrect. Remember: the emphasis goes on the first syllable, so it's SAY-krum, not suh-KRUM.

The word breaks into two syllables: sa-crum. You can count the syllables by clapping once for each one: 'sa' (clap) 'crum' (clap).

Sacrum comes from Latin and means 'sacred.' Ancient Romans and Greeks called this bone sacred because they thought it was the seat of the soul, and it was often used in religious rituals and sacrifices.

Think of the sacrum as the 'foundation block' at the bottom of your spine. It's a large, solid bone that acts like a bridge connecting your upper spine to your pelvis and hips.

Words like 'sacral' (describing things related to the sacrum) and 'sacred' (meaning holy or set apart) share the same root. 'Sacral' is the adjective form you'll often hear doctors use when talking about this bone.

You might hear it used like this: 'The doctor explained that the sacrum is the large triangular bone at the base of the spine.' Or: 'In anatomy class, we learned that the sacrum connects the spine to the pelvis.'

Doctors sometimes use the abbreviation 'S1,' 'S2,' 'S3,' etc., when talking about specific sacral segments or vertebrae. These refer to the five bones that fused together to form the sacrum, numbered from top to bottom.