ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

THE BRAIN Our brain is well protected by: The scalp The skull The meninges Layers includes: - dura mater (strongest layer, the spaces within the fold of dura mater is called dural venous sinuses, which collect blood from the small veins of the brain. The dura mater is surrounded by an epidural space between the dura mater and the periostum of the vertebrae.) - arachnoid mater (very thin layer on the middle of the meninges, the spaces between the dura mater and arachnoid mater is the subdural mater, which is normally only a potential space containing a very small amount of serous fluid.) - pia mater (very tightly bound to the surface of the brain and spinal cord, the spaces between the arachnoid mater and pia mater is the subarachnoid space, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid and containing blood vessels.) VENTRICLES The CNS contains fluid-filled cavities, called ventricles, that maybe quite small in some areas and large in others. - Lateral ventricle each cerebral hemisphere contains a relatively large cavity. - Third ventricle a smaller midline cavity located in the center of the diancephalon between two halves of the thalamus and connected to the foramina to the lateral ventricles. - Fourth ventricle is located at the base of the cerebellum and is connected to the third ventricle by a narrow canal, called the cerebral aqueduct. It is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.

CEREBROSPINAL FLUID CSF bathes the brain and spinal cord, providing a protective cushion around the CNS. It is produced by the choroid plexuses, specialized structures made of ependymal cells, which are located in the ventricles. FLOW OF CSF: 1. The CSF flows from the lateral ventricles into the third ventricle and then through the cerebral aqueduct into the fourth ventricle. 2. A small amount of CSF enters the central canal of the spinal cord. 3. CSF flows through the subarrachnoid space to the arachnoid granulations (masses of arachnoid tissues, penetrate into the superior sagittal sinus, a dural venous sinus in the longitudinal fissure) in the superior sagittal sinus, where it enters the venous circulation.

FLOW OF CSF IN THE BRAIN