Since white cells may enter the CSF in response to local infection, inflammation, or bleeding, the RBC count is used to correct the WBC count so that it reflects conditions other than hemorrhage or a traumatic tap.
They are located above and in front of the cerebellum, and their function is to produce and circulate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the protective fluid that circulates through the brain and the spinal cord.
Approximately 80-90 percent of children with Chiari malformation Type II also have hydrocephalus, a condition in which one or more of the ventricles becomes enlarged due to an accumulation of CSF.
CSF protects the central nervous system from injury, cushions it from the surrounding bone structure, provides it with nutrients, and removes waste products by returning them to the blood.
Hydrocephalus is an abnormal expansion of cavities, called ventricles, within the brain, which is caused by an abnormally large accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Spinal tap: also called lumbar puncture, measures the amount of pressure in the spinal canal and/or to remove a small amount of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) for testing.
Hydranencephaly is distinct from hydrocephalus, in which CSF accumulates within a normally-formed brain, putting pressure on it and possibly causing skull expansion.
About 50 percent of metastatic cancers that infiltrate the central nervous system and about 10 percent of central nervous system tumors will shed cells into the CSF.
CSF will be collected during a procedure called a lumbar puncture in which a needle is used to withdraw a sample of CSF from the area around the spinal cord.
The most common causes for an enlarged head are megalencephaly, or an enlarged brain, and hydrocephalus, or excessive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain.
