Intermediate Pia Mater Quiz

Q1. Where do denticulate ligaments extend from the spinal cord?

• Inferiorly through intervertebral discs
• Posteriorly through spinous processes
• Anteriorly through vertebral bodies
• Laterally between anterior and posterior nerve roots

Q2. What is the attachment of the lateral tips of denticulate ligaments?

• Ligamentum flavum
• Intervertebral discs
• Dura mater
• Vertebral bodies

Q3. What is the filum terminale internum?

• An epidural venous channel
• A dural fold extending from the skull to C1
• The pial strand from the conus medullaris to about S2 within the dural sac
• A nerve root of the cauda equina

Q4. What happens to the filum terminale at approximately S2?

• It becomes a lumbar spinal nerve
• It terminates without further continuation
• It acquires a dural covering and continues as the filum terminale externum
• It enters the central canal

Q5. How does pia differ from arachnoid at the anterior median fissure?

• Neither layer relates to the fissure
• Arachnoid enters the fissure while pia remains superficial
• Pia extends into the fissure while arachnoid bridges over it
• Both layers remain outside the dura

Q6. What is the functional role of denticulate ligaments?

• Connection of adjacent vertebral arches
• Formation of spinal nerve ganglia
• Lateral stabilization of the spinal cord
• Production of cerebrospinal fluid

Q7. Which structures lie anterior and posterior to the denticulate ligaments?

• Vertebral bodies and spinous processes
• Sympathetic trunks and ribs
• Anterior and posterior spinal nerve roots
• Dura and vertebral periosteum

Q8. How is the pia related to the spinal arteries?

• They course in close association with the pial surface
• They remain exclusively in the epidural space
• They travel only inside vertebral bodies
• They are separated from pia by dura

Q9. Why does pia remain attached to the spinal cord when the arachnoid is separated during dissection?

• Pia forms the epidural space
• Pia is intimately adherent to neural tissue
• Pia is fused to vertebral bone
• Arachnoid lies beneath pia

Q10. Which pial structures provide longitudinal and lateral stabilization of the lower spinal cord and meningeal contents?

• Anterior and posterior longitudinal ligaments
• Ligamentum flavum and interspinous ligaments
• Filum terminale and denticulate ligaments
• Supraspinous ligament and ligamentum nuchae