Age/sex: 59 year old female
Size: 14.2 x 14.3 x 4.9 cm
A coronal slice of the brain at the level of the anterior temporal lobes (T) shows the putamen (P), caudate (C), and septum pellucidum (short arrows). The ventricles (V) are moderately dilated. The meninges over the frontoparietal lobe convexity are thickened (long arrows).
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is defined as an abnormal amount of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). About 125 ml of CSF is normally present within the ventricles and around the brain and spinal cord. It is produced in the choroid plexus from which it flows via aqueducts into the subarachnoid space where it is eventually absorbed by the arachnoid villi. The fluid acts as a shock absorber and in the regulation of cerebral blood flow.
Hydrocephalus is manifested pathologically by dilatation of the ventricles. It can be caused by impaired CSF flow (e.g., obstruction within an aqueduct), decreased CSF reabsorption, or excessive CSF production. In the patient who had this brain, the likely cause was an infection of the meninges (meningitis) that resulted in fibrosis of the subarachnoid space (the white thickening on the frontoparietal convexity). This led to impaired CSF flow resulting in its accumulation in the ventricles, causing them to dilate.
Below: Diagram illustrating the normal flow of cerebrospinal fluid in and around the brain.
Source: Cerebrospinal fluid. (2016). Wikimedia Commons.听
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