SkullThe bone of the skull. The dura mater lines its inner surface.
Endosteal layer of the duraThe outer layer of the dura mater. It is stuck to the inside of the skull like a lining. Also called the periosteal layer.
Meningeal layer of the duraThe inner layer of the dura mater. Where it parts from the outer layer it encloses the venous sinuses, and it folds down between the hemispheres as the falx cerebri.
Superior sagittal sinusA channel for venous blood between the two layers of the dura. It runs along the top of the midline.
Falx cerebriA sickle-shaped fold of the dura's inner layer. It dips down between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Arachnoid materThe thin middle membrane, under the dura. Fine threads cross from it to the pia mater.
Subarachnoid spaceLies between arachnoid and pia mater, filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
Pia materThe thinnest, innermost membrane. It hugs the surface of the brain and follows it down into every fold.
Cerebral cortexThe brain's folded outer layer of grey matter, under the meninges.
How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-27. (1) Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th edition (1918), The Meninges of the Brain and Medulla Spinalis, https://www.bartleby.com/107/193.html : three membranes, from without inward the dura mater, the arachnoid and the pia mater; the cranial dura lining the skull as an internal periosteum, in two layers, an outer endosteal and an inner meningeal, which separate to form the venous sinuses; the falx cerebri, a fold of the inner layer, containing the superior sagittal sinus; the subdural space; the subarachnoid cavity filled with cerebrospinal fluid; connective-tissue trabeculae; arachnoid granulations beside the superior sagittal sinus; the pia mater on the cortex. (2) Wikipedia, Meninges, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meninges : the dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia mater; the dura's outer endosteal (periosteal) layer by the skull and inner meningeal layer, separating to surround the dural venous sinuses; the falx cerebri, the largest dural fold; the subarachnoid space between arachnoid and pia, containing cerebrospinal fluid, crossed by arachnoid trabeculae; the arachnoid granulations. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-27. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
Five lines stand at the left and four at the right. The cut passes through the crown of the head from side to side, with bone above and the folded brain below.
Read the full guide
Word bank for the unlabeled meninges
Skull, endosteal layer of the dura, meningeal layer of the dura, superior sagittal sinus, falx cerebri, arachnoid mater, subarachnoid space, pia mater, cerebral cortex. A class may write periosteal layer for endosteal layer, and dura mater proper for the meningeal layer.
Drawn, but with no line
The band above the bone is the scalp. The small circles are the spongy middle of the skull bone. The short strokes across the fluid space are threads of the arachnoid, and the two buds inside the triangle are arachnoid granulations. The wide field at the bottom is white matter.
Three thin bands lie under the bone. From the bone down: endosteal layer, meningeal layer, arachnoid.
Meninges is a plural. One membrane is a meninx.
Questions and answers
What does dura mater mean?
Tough mother, in Latin. Pia mater is Latin for tender mother, and the arachnoid mater is named for its likeness to a spider web.
What are the leptomeninges?
The arachnoid mater and the pia mater taken together. The word means thin meninges, from the Greek leptos, thin. The dura mater on its own is the pachymeninx.
Is there an epidural space in the skull?
Not an open one. The outer layer of the cranial dura is the lining of the skull bones and is attached to them. Round the spinal cord the dura stands away from the vertebrae, and the gap between is the epidural space.
Where is the subdural space on a meninges diagram?
Between the dura and the arachnoid, but no line goes to it here. The two membranes lie in contact, so it is a potential space, not an open one, and this drawing shows none.