Cerebrospinal Fluid Pathway Diagram
From the third ventricle it flows down a long narrow passageway the aqueduct of sylvius into the fourth ventricle.
Cerebrospinal fluid pathway diagram. Csf acts as a cushion or buffer providing basic mechanical and. It is a multifaceted marvel able to continuously support the nervous system through the lifespan of the organism. This diagram summarizes fluid and cellular movements across the different barriers of the brain compartments blood interstitial fluid virchow robin space cerebrospinal fluid space comprising the cerebral ventricles basal cisterns and cortical subarachnoid space. Cerebrospinal fluid csf is a clear colorless body fluid found in the brain and spinal cord it is produced by specialised ependymal cells in the choroid plexuses of the ventricles of the brain and absorbed in the arachnoid granulations there is about 125 ml of csf at any one time and about 500 ml is generated every day.
The solid arrows in the draw ing below cerebrospinal fluid csf circulatory pathway show the major pathway of csf flow. Use the chapter headings below to navigate to relevant sections of the video. Radionuclide cerebrospinal fluid csf flow studies or so called radionuclide ventriculography provide a safe physiologic assessment of the functional anatomy of the csf spaces 31 33 csf circulates through the ventricular system and subarachnoid space that surrounds both the brain and spinal cord figure 51 21 normally csf flows anteriorly in the lateral ventricles through the foramen of. Cerebrospinal fluid csf is a clear proteinaceous fluid that exists in the surrounding spaces of mammalian central nervous systems cns.
In the average adult human there is roughly 150 ml of csf circulating at any given moment. Beginning in the lateral ventricles csf flows through two passageways into the third ventricle. The csf passes from the lateral ventricles to the third ventricle through the interventricular foramen of monro. The pathway of the cerebrospinal fluid is as follows.
A video showing the flow of csf through the ventricular system and the sub arachnoid space.