dura mater

du·ra ma·ter   (dŏŏr'ə mā'tər, mä'-, dyŏŏr'ə)    n.  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 meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord. [Middle English, from Medieval Latin dūra māter (cerebrī), hard mother (of the brain), dura mater (translation of Arabic 'umm ad-dimāġ aṣ-ṣāfigah, the dense mother of the brain, matrix of the brain) : Latin dūra, feminine of dūrus, hard; see duramen + Latin māter, mother; see mater.]

Main Entry: du·ra ma·ter
Pronunciation: 'd(y)ur-&-"mAt-&r, -"mät-
Function: noun
: the tough fibrous membrane lined withendothelium on the inner surface that envelops the brain and spinal cord external to the arachnoid and pia mater, that in the cranium closely lines the bone, does not dip down between the convolutions,and contains numerous blood vessels and venous sinuses, and that in the spinal cord is separated from the bone by a considerable space and contains no venous sinuses called also dura

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   (dr'ə mā'tər, mä'-)  Pronunciation Key  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.