pia mater
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to pia mater: Arachnoid mater
pia mater
[pi´ah ma´ter] (L.)the innermost of the three meninges covering the brain and spinal cord.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
pi·a mat·er
(pī'ă mā'tĕr, pē'ă mah'tĕr), [TA]A delicate vasculated fibrous membrane firmly adherent to the glial capsule of the brain (pia mater cranialis [TA]) and spinal cord (pia mater spinalis [TA] or membrana limitans gliae); following exactly the outer markings of the cerebrum and also the ependymal lining circumference of the choroid membranes and plexus, it invests the cerebellum but not so intimately as it does the cerebrum, not dipping down into all the smaller sulci. The pia mater and the arachnoid are collectively called leptomeninx [TA], as distinguished from dura mater or pachymeninx.
Synonym(s): pia
[L. tender, affectionate mother]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
pia mater
(mā′tər, mä′tər)n.
The fine vascular membrane that closely envelops the brain and spinal cord under the arachnoid and the dura mater.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
pi·a mat·er
(pī'ă mā'tĕr) [TA]A delicate, vasculated fibrous membrane firmly adherent to the glial capsule of the brain (pia mater cranialis [encephali] [TA]) and spinal cord (pia mater spinalis [TA] or membrana limitans gliae); following exactly the outer markings of the cerebrum and also the ependymal lining circumference of the choroid membranes and plexus, it invests the cerebellum but not so intimately as it does the cerebrum, not dipping down into all the smaller sulci. The pia mater and the arachnoid are collectively called leptomeninges, as distinguished from dura mater or pachymeninx.
Synonym(s): pia.
Synonym(s): pia.
[L. tender, affectionate mother]
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
pia mater
The delicate, innermost layer of the MENINGES. The pia follows the convolutions of the brain, dipping into the SULCI.Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005
pia mater
a thin, inner membrane or meninge surrounding the brain and spinal cord. see MENINGES.Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005
pia mater
A delicate fibrous membrane closely enveloping the brain, spinal cord and the optic nerve. It terminates at the eye.
Millodot: Dictionary of Optometry and Visual Science, 7th edition. © 2009 Butterworth-Heinemann