It doesn't make much sense to me, but probably does in context. First of all, it's not a sentence; but if I make the main verb finite -
"Its metallic clang register[STRIKE]ing[/STRIKE]
ed in her spine [in the same way]
as the uncomprehending eyes in the chemistry lab
had [registered in her spine]."
Wild guess: a chemistry teacher had been arrested for doing something inappropriate in the chemistry lab. Whatever it was, her class had not understood it. She had her back to them at the time, but she had a strange crawling feeling in her spine that told her they didn't understand. Later, as the door of the prison cell clanged shut behind her, she felt the same sort of uneasy feeling. (Doesn't make much sense, I know...
;-))
b
