dura mater

[mey-ter] /ˈmeɪ tər/

noun, Anatomy

the tough, fibrous membrane forming the outermost of the three coverings of the brain and spinal cord.

Also called dura.

Compare arachnoid (def 6), pia mater.

Origin of dura mater

1350-1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin: literally, hard mother

Examples from the web for dura mater

The dura mater is used as an implant in human brain surgery.
The blood seeps into the gap between the arachnoid membrane that encloses the brain and the lining of the skull, or dura mater.
These are named from without inward: the dura mater, the arachnoid, and the pia mater.
Around the margin of the foramen magnum it is closely adherent to the bone, and is continuous with the spinal dura mater.
They communicate with the meningeal veins and the sinuses of the dura mater, and with the veins of the pericranium.
Point for trephining over the straight portion of the transverse sinus, exposing dura mater of both cerebrum and cerebellum.

British Dictionary definitions for dura mater

dura mater

/ˈdjʊərə ˈmeɪtə/

noun

the outermost and toughest of the three membranes covering the brain and spinal cord Often shortened to dura See also meninges

Word Origin

C15: from Medieval Latin, hard mother

Word Origin and History for dura mater

"tough outer membrane surrounding the brain," c.1400, from Medieval Latin dura mater cerebri, literally "hard mother of the brain," a loan-translation of Arabic umm al-dimagh as-safiqa, literally "thick mother of the brain." "In Arabic, the words 'father,' 'mother,' and 'son' are often used to denote relationships between things" [Klein].

dura mater in Medicine

dura mater dura ma·ter (mā'tər, mä-)
n.
The tough fibrous membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord and lining the inner surface of the skull. Also called dura , pachymeninx.

dura mater in Science

dura mater

(dr'ə mā'tər, mä'-)
The tough fibrous membrane covering the brain and the spinal cord and lining the inner surface of the skull. It is the outermost of the three membranes (meninges) that surround the central nervous system, overlying the arachnoid and pia mater.