A Study of the Cerebrospinal Fluid Pulse Wave

Abstract

CEREBROSPINAL fluid (CSF) pulsations have been recognized for many years. Most observers have regarded these pulsations as a reflection of the arterial pulse wave. In addition, there is a superimposed rise and fall in cerebrospinal pressure associated with respiration. In man CSF pulsations below a spinal block are known to disappear, and because of this observation, it has been held generally that CSF pulsations arise primarily from the large arteries at the base of the brain and from this site are transmitted to the CSF.¹ One author believed that the veins about the CSF axis influenced the CSF pulse wave, primarily in the lumbar thecal sac.² In a recent series of articles, Bering has proposed an entirely different set of concepts regarding the origin and function of the CSF pulse wave.^3-5 He has suggested that the CSF pulsations arise entirely from the choroid plexus and that any