Dura mater
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The dura mater surrounds, also known as pachymeninx, surrounds the central nervous system and is pierced by the cranial nerves, the internal carotid arteries and the vertebral arteries.
Intracranially it is formed by two layers:
- outer endosteal layer, continuous via sutures and foramina with the periosteum
- inner meningeal layer, continuous inferiorly with the theca of the spinal cord
These two layers are adherent except were separated by the dural venous sinuses which are analogous to the epidural venous plexus of the spinal canal.
In the young the extension across unfused sutures makes the dura inseparable from these, thus limiting extradural haemorrhages to the sutures. As the calvarial bones fuse the suture layer involutes. The dura however becomes thicker and more adherent to the overlying bone with age, also accounting for the decrease of EDHs in the elderly.
History and etymology
"Dura mater" derives from the medieval Latin "durus" and "mater", i.e. "hard mother". This term was created in Stephen of Antioch's translation of Hali Abbas in the 12th century 2. Arabic medicine at that time conjectured that the meninges gave rise to all the membranes of the body and expressed relationships between different tissue types in terms of familial relationships (mother, son, daughter, etc).
-<p>The <strong>dura mater</strong> surrounds the central nervous system and is pierced by the <a href="/articles/cranial-nerves">cranial nerves</a>, the <a href="/articles/internal-carotid-artery-1">internal carotid arteries</a> and the <a href="/articles/vertebral-artery">vertebral arteries</a>. </p><p>Intracranially it is formed by two layers:</p><ul>- +<p>The <strong>dura mater</strong>, also known as <strong>pachymeninx</strong>, surrounds the central nervous system and is pierced by the <a href="/articles/cranial-nerves">cranial nerves</a>, the <a href="/articles/internal-carotid-artery-1">internal carotid arteries</a> and the <a href="/articles/vertebral-artery">vertebral arteries</a>. </p><p>Intracranially it is formed by two layers:</p><ul>