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The role of the cerebrospinal fluid is crucial for the proper functioning of our body. Its functions are primarily: securing the nervous tissue and eliminating unnecessary metabolic products from the nervous system. In the diagnosis and examination of diseases of the nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid is necessary for the performance of individual tests.
Cerebrospinal fluid has been known to medicine since the times of Hippocrates. It was he who first mentioned the fluid surrounding the human brain when examining patients with hydrocephalus. After the Hippocrates, the properties and existence of cerebrospinal fluid were overlooked for many centuries. The reason for this could be the way in which an autopsy was carried out at the time. This was due to the method used during the autopsy at that time, which involved separating the head from the rest of the body at the very beginning of the section. This caused the fluid to leak out prior to subsequent head and brain examinations. Medicine became interested in cerebrospinal fluid again only in the XNUMXth century thanks to Emanuel Swedenborg. It described the liquid produced in the fourth chamber. It also described its close connection with the brain and spinal cord. Today, thanks to the medicine of the XNUMXst century, cerebrospinal fluid is no longer a foreign thing to us and thanks to the knowledge about it, we can perform tests and analyzes of the nervous system, thus enabling the diagnosis of diseases of the nervous system.
Cerebrospinal fluid – functions
The cerebrospinal fluid is responsible for many functions important for the proper functioning of the body. It is the cerebrospinal fluid, thanks to its balancing properties, that prevents and protects the lower parts of the brain from pressure that could damage the nervous system. The cerebrospinal fluid also has a transport function. It is he who transports the so-called mediators, i.e. hormones, through the various parts of the nervous system. In addition to transport, the cerebrospinal fluid removes unnecessary metabolic products from the nervous system. Another function performed by the described fluid is the shock-absorbing function. It is the cerebrospinal fluid that protects and cushions the spinal cord in case of a fall or some type of accident, for example.
Cerebrospinal fluid – diseases
The most famous disease associated with the cerebrospinal fluid is hydrocephalus. The disease can be caused by poor circulation of fluid in the ventricles, but it can also be caused by an overproduction of that fluid. Other diseases related to the cerebrospinal fluid include: multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, infections of the central nervous system, subarachnoid bleeding, cancer and Guillian-Barry syndrome. To diagnose these diseases, it is necessary to collect and then analyze the cerebrospinal fluid. Cerebrospinal fluid collection methods:
- Lumbar puncture: This is the most common and at the same time effective and safest method of collecting this fluid. The puncture is performed with a needle inserted into the intervertebral lumbar spine of the patient. After the puncture is performed, the patient must lie down for 24 hours in order to avoid the post-dural syndrome.
- Suboccipital puncture: this is performed by withdrawing fluid from the lateral ventricles of the brain via a suboccipital puncture.