Meninges

: The three membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (singular: meninx). The outside meninx is called the dura mater, and is the most resilient of the three. The center layer is the pia mater, and the thin innermost layer is the arachnoid. Inflammation of the meninges (meningitis) can occur due to bacterial infection. See also meningitis.

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Plural of meninx.

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meninges pl of MENINX

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pl. n. (sing. meninx)

the three connective tissue membranes that line the skull and vertebral canal and enclose the brain and spinal cord. The outermost layer - the dura mater (pachymeninx) - is inelastic, tough, and thicker than the middle layer (the arachnoid mater) and the innermost layer (the pia mater). The inner two membranes are together called the leptomeninges; between them circulates the cerebrospinal fluid.

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me·nin·ges (mə-ninґjēz) [Gr., pl. of mēninx membrane] [TA] the three membranes that envelop the brain and spinal cord: the dura mater, pia mater, and arachnoid. meningeal adj

Cranial meninges, comprising the dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater, in a superior coronal view.