pia mater
- noun
- /ˈpiːə ˈmeɪtər/
- Specialized
:
pia mater
- There are three layers: outermost dura mater, middle arachnoid, and the inner pia mater.
Examples
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The membranes surrounding the cord are the dura mater, the arachnoid layer, and the pia mater.
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The dura, arachnoid, and pia mater are the meninges.
Blog text (16) -
The membranes surrounding the cord are the dura mater, the arachnoid layer, and the pia mater.
Academic text (2005) -
The space between the arachnoid and pia mater is filled with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
How Delicate
Surface Forms
Morphology
pia + mater
This is a Latin medical borrowing whose literal parts (Latin pia = 'tender', mater = 'mother') do not transparently yield the technical anatomical sense of the delicate inner meningeal layer. Because the expression is a specialized, borrowed term and the constituent meanings do not map predictably onto the anatomical referent, a B1 learner would not be able to derive the MWE's meaning from the parts.
Etymology
The name pia mater comes from the Latin words pia ('tender') and mater ('mother'). Early doctors pictured a 'tender mother' because this very thin membrane lies right against the brain and spinal cord and seems to protect and hold them gently, so today pia mater means the delicate inner layer that sticks to the brain.