Pia mater

Pia mater
Diagrammatic transverse section of the medulla spinalis and its membranes. (At border, dura mater is black line, arachnoid mater is blue line, and pia mater is red line.)
The medulla spinalis and its membranes.
Gray's	subject #193 878
MeSH	Pia+Mater

The pia mater (Latin: "tender mother", itself a translation from Arabic) is the delicate innermost layer of the meninges - the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

The thin, mesh-like pia mater closely envelops the entire surface of the brain, running down into the fissures of the cortex. It joins with the ependyma which lines the ventricles to form choroid plexuses that produce cerebrospinal fluid.

In the spinal cord, the Pia mater attaches to the Dura mater by the denticular ligaments through the arachnoid membrane.

The pia mater is a neural crest derivative.

Additional images

Meninges of the CNS	Median sagittal section of brain.	Coronal section of inferior horn of lateral ventricle.	Diagrammatic representation of a section across the top of the skull, showing the membranes of the brain, etc.
Diagrammatic section of scalp.

Anatomy: meninges of the brain and medulla spinalis
Layers	Dura mater (Falx cerebri, Tentorium cerebelli, Falx cerebelli, Diaphragma sellae) • Arachnoid mater (Arachnoid granulation) • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater
Cisterns	Cisterna magna • Pontine cistern • Interpeduncular cistern • Chiasmatic • Lateral cerebral fossa • Great cerebral vein
Other	Cerebrospinal fluid

[hide] Anatomy of torso (primarily): the spinal cord
Spinal nerve	Dorsal (Root, Ganglion, Ramus) • Ventral (Root, Ramus) • Sympathetic trunk • rami communicantes (Gray, White)
Gray matter/Rexed laminae	Posterior horn (Column of Clarke, Substantia gelatinosa of Rolando, Nucleus proprius) • Lateral horn • Anterior horn • Central canal/Substantia gelatinosa centralis
White matter: somatic/ascending (blue)	Posterior/PCML: Gracilis • Cuneatus Lateral: Spinocerebellar (Dorsal, Ventral) • Spinothalamic (Lateral, Anterior) • Spinotectal • Posterolateral (Lissauer)
White matter: motor/descending (red)	Lateral: Corticospinal (Lateral) • Ep (Rubrospinal, Olivospinal) Anterior: Corticospinal (Anterior) • Ep (Vestibulospinal, Tectospinal, Reticulospinal)
Layers	Epidural space • Dura mater • Subdural space • Arachnoid mater • Subarachnoid space • Pia mater
Other structures	Denticulate ligaments • Conus medullaris • Cauda equina • Filum terminale • Cervical enlargement • Lumbar enlargement • Anterior median fissure