In mathematics, especially in the field of module theory, the concept of pure submodule provides a generalization of direct summand, a type of particularly well-behaved piece of a module. Pure modules are complementary to flat modules and generalize Prüfer's notion of pure subgroups. While flat modules are those modules which leave short exact sequences exact after tensoring, a pure submodule defines a short exact sequence (known as a pure exact sequence) that remains exact after tensoring with any module. Similarly a flat module is a direct limit of projective modules, and a pure exact sequence is a direct limit of split exact sequences. Definition Let R be a ring (associative, with 1), let M be a (left) module over R, let P be a submodule of M and let i: P → M be the natural injective map. Then P is a pure submodule of M if, for any (right) R-module X, the natural induced map idX ⊗ i : X ⊗ P → X ⊗ M (where the tensor products are taken over R) is injective. Analogously, a short exact sequence of (left) R-modules is pure exact if the sequence stays exact when tensored with any (right) R-module X. This is equivalent to saying that f(A) is a pure submodule of B. Equivalent characterizations Purity of a submodule can also be expressed element-wise; it is really a statement about the solvability of certain systems of linear equations. Specifically, P is pure in M if and only if the following condition holds: for any m-by-n matrix (aij) with entries in R, and any set y1, ..., ym of elements of P, if there exist elements x1, ..., xn in M such that then there also exist elements x1′, ..., xn′ in P such that Another characterization is: a sequence is pure exact if and only if it is the filtered colimit (also known as direct limit) of split exact sequences Examples Every direct summand of M is pure in M. Consequently, every subspace of a vector space over a field is pure. Properties Suppose is a short exact sequence of R-modules, then: C is a flat module if and only if the exact sequence is pure exact for every A and B. From this we can deduce that over a von Neumann regular ring, every submodule of every R-module is pure. This is because every module over a von Neumann