HYDROCEPHALUS

Abstract

Studies of the pathology of hydrocephalus, with few exceptions,¹ have pertained to the condition of the ventricles and subarachnoid spaces. In general, they have been anatomic rather than histologic. In this article I shall attempt to describe the most important microscopic central nerve changes in this morbid condition and the conclusions that may be warranted from such observations as to some causes of the excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the cerebral cavities and the mode of its absorption. Twelve cases of hydrocephalus have been studied, all of the so-called communicating type. In this, Dandy and Blackfan² included cases in which the communication between the ventricles remains open, the obstruction taking place in the subarachnoid space. If the ventricular communication is obstructed, by a tumor, for instance, the hydrocephalus is noncommunicating. METHODS OF STUDY Blocks from various portions of the brain, including the leptomeninges and the dura, when