Journal
MEDICAL ENGINEERING & PHYSICS
Volume 33, Issue 7, Pages 874-882Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.07.009
Keywords
Cerebrospinal fluid; Perivascular flow; Syringomyelia; Lumped-parameter model
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Fluid transport in syringomyelia has remained enigmatic ever since the disease was first identified some three centuries ago. However, accumulating evidence in the last decade from animal studies implicates arterial pulsations in syrinx formation. In particular, it has been suggested that a phase difference between the pressure pulse in the spinal subarachnoid space and the perivascular spaces, due to a pathologically disturbed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood supply, could result in a net influx of CSF into the spinal cord (SC). A lumped-parameter model is developed of the cerebrospinal system to investigate this conjecture. It is found that although this phase-lag mechanism may operate, it requires the SC to have an intrinsic storage capacity due to the collapsibility of the contained venous reservoir. This net flux is associated with a higher mean pressure in the SC than the SSS which is maintained in the periodic steady state. According to our simulations the mechanical perturbations of arachnoiditis exacerbate the phase-lag effect, which may be partially alleviated by the presence of a posttraumatic syrinx and more completely by a syringo-subarachnoid shunt. (C) 2010 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available