L1.2.3.2: Cerebrospinal Fluid

• CEREBROSPINAL FLUID

  ● Absorbs trauma / shock

  ● Similar to blood plasma in composition

  ● Forms a watery cushion to protect the brain and spinal cord

  ● CHOROID PLEXUSES - capillaries in the ventricles of the brain that continually form CSF from blood
• Cerebrospinal fluid circulation

  1. CSF is produced by the choroid plexuses of each ventricle

  2. CSF flows through the ventricles and into the subarachnoid space via the median and lateral apertures. Some CSF flows through the central canal of the spinal cord

  3. CSF flows through the subarachnoid space

  4. CSF is absorbed into the dural venous sinuses via the arachnoid villi
• Hydrocephalus

  - “Water on the brain”

  - CSF accumulates and exerts pressure on the brain because something is obstructing its drainage

  - In newborn babies, this causes the head to enlarge as the brain increases in size

  - Can be surgically treated