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A delicate vasculated fibrous membrane firmly adherent to the glial capsule of the brain (p. cranialis [TA]) and spinal cord (p. spinalis [TA] or membrana limitans gliae); following exactly the outer markings of the cerebrum and also the ependymal lining circumference of the choroid membranes and plexus, it invests the cerebellum but not so intimately as it does the cerebrum, not dipping down into all the smaller sulci. The p. and the arachnoid are collectively called leptomenin [TA], as distinguished from dura mater or pachymeninx. SYN: pia. [L. tender, affectionate mother]
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pia ma·ter -'māt-ər n the delicate and highly vascular membrane of connective tissue investing the brain and spinal cord, lying internal to the arachnoid and dura mater, dipping down between the convolutions of the brain, and sending an ingrowth into the anterior fissure of the spinal cord called also pia
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see pia mater, under P.Medical dictionary. 2011.