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 (pronounced /ˈpaɪ.ə ˈmeɪtər/, from Latin "tender mother") 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.

[edit] See also

• Leptomeningeal collateral circulation

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[edit] 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.

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v • d • e Anatomy: meninges of the brain and medulla spinalis (TA A14.1.01, GA 9.749/9.872) Layers Dura mater Falx cerebri · Tentorium cerebelli · Falx cerebelli · Diaphragma sellae · Trigeminal cave Arachnoid mater Arachnoid granulation Subarachnoid cisterns: Cisterna magna · Pontine cistern · Interpeduncular cistern · Chiasmatic · Lateral cerebral fossa · Of great cerebral vein Pia mater Denticulate ligaments Tela chorioidea (Tela chorioidea of third ventricle, Tela chorioidea of fourth ventricle) · Choroid plexus Combined Filum terminale · Leptomeninges Spaces Epidural space · Subdural space · Subarachnoid space (Cerebrospinal fluid)