Meninges of the brain
The organs of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) are covered by 3 connective tissue layers collectively called the meninges. Consisting of the pia mater (closest to the CNS structures), the arachnoid and the dura mater (farthest from the CNS), the meninges also support blood vessels and contain cerebrospinal fluid. These are the structures involved in meningitis, an inflammation of the meninges, which, if severe, may become encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.
Review Date: 09/28/2008
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; and Jatin M. Vyas, PhD, MD, Instructor in
Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division
of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
