Cerebrospinal Fluid Production and Circulation

Production and Volume

• The primary source of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production is the choroid plexus, which is a vascular structure located within the cerebral ventricles, producing CSF through a metabolic process that consumes energy, with approximately 800 mL of CSF produced during 24 hours, replacing the total CSF volume more than 5 times a day, in adults, with the space subaracnoideo containing approximately 140 mL of CSF 1, 2

Circulation

• The CSF flows from the lateral ventricles through the foramina of Monro to the third ventricle, then through the aqueduct of Sylvius to the fourth ventricle, and finally through the foramina of Magendie and Luschka to the base of the brain, and from the base of the brain, the CSF travels caudally to the base of the spinal cord (lumbar sac) and rostrally over the cerebral convexities 1