Meninx

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmen.ɪŋks/

Definitions

1. The layered protective membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord serves to safeguard central nervous system structures from injury and infection
2. This anatomical feature consists of supportive membranes, which encase the brain and spinal cord, offering critical protection against physical and microbial threats
3. A set of protective membranes, known collectively, surrounds and supports the brain and spinal cord to defend them from injury and infections

Etymology: The Greek word "mênigx" (μῆνιγξ) originally referred to a thin membrane in the body, and it was used for several different structures: the membrane of the eye, the membrane enclosing the brain, and the eardrum. Ancient anatomists cared more about the body's tissues than about tidy categories, so one term could cover all three. The brain covering was only one of its meanings. Early modern scholars, working in New Latin, took the Greek word over as "mēninx" to name the protective layers around the brain and spinal cord. The English term is borrowed from that New Latin form. Its use in English is a scholarly and medical choice rather than a word that passed through everyday speech, which is why it still sounds technical.

Synonyms: membrane