What does dura mean?
Dura is the anatomical term for the tough, fibrous outermost membrane that encases the brain and spinal cord. It is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase 'dura mater', meaning 'tough mother', one of three meningeal layers that protect the central nervous system, the others being the arachnoid mater and the pia mater. The dura is remarkably strong and also serves as the periosteum of the inner skull. In medicine, it features prominently in discussions of head injury — for example, an epidural hematoma involves bleeding between the skull and the dura — and in procedures such as lumbar punctures and spinal anesthesia, where the membrane may be deliberately pierced or avoided. Because it belongs to specialist vocabulary, dura rarely appears outside clinical, radiological, and anatomical writing, but within those fields it is indispensable and universally understood.
nounThe thick, tough outermost membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord; short for 'dura mater'.
- The tough outermost of the three membranes (meninges) enveloping the brain and spinal cord.
"The surgeon carefully incised the dura to access the underlying tissue."
"An epidural hematoma forms when blood collects between the skull and the dura."
"During the operation, the neurosurgeon sutured a small tear in the patient's dura."
Rarely pluralized; when referring to multiple instances, medical writers often use 'the dura' generically or say 'durae' in strictly Latinate contexts.
"The anatomy textbook compared the duras of several mammalian species."
The protective wrapper around your brain is literally named after hardness — Latin 'dura mater' means 'tough mother'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dura
Dura derives directly from Latin 'dura mater', meaning 'hard mother' or 'tough mother', a translation attributed to medieval Arabic anatomical writers who described the membrane as 'umm al-dimagh' ('mother of the brain'). The Latin adjective 'durus' means 'hard' or 'tough', and it is the same root that gives English words such as durable, endure, obdurate, and duress. The shortened form 'dura' became standard in modern medical English as clinicians favored brevity over the full Latin phrase.
Related word forms
How dura is actually used
Strictly a technical medical and anatomical term, used almost exclusively by clinicians, anatomists, and medical writers. In everyday speech it appears mainly in the fuller form 'dura mater'; the clipped form 'dura' is common in clinical contexts such as radiology reports and surgical notes.
Easily confused with dura
Durra is a variety of sorghum grain grown in arid regions, whereas dura is the tough outer membrane of the brain and spinal cord.