Meninges

• Protective coverings of brain and spinal cord

Dura mater

• Sensory supply from CN V
• Encloses dural venous sinuses

Arachnoid mater

• Arachnoid granulations

Subarachnoid space

• Contains circulating CSF and blood vessels
• Can be accessed via lumbar puncture at L3/4 or L4/5 disc levels to obtain a sample of CSF
• Ends inferiorly at vertebral level S2
• Communicates in specific locations with another series of CSF-filled spaces within the brain (and spinal cord) - the ventricles

Pia mater

• Adheres to brain (and vessels and nerves entering or leaving the brain)

Ventricles of the brain

• Intraventricular foramina (of Monroe) connects lateral ventricles to third ventricle