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Review
. 2018;73(6):563-568.
doi: 10.2478/s11756-018-0074-x. Epub 2018 Jun 27.

Lymphatic drainage of cerebrospinal fluid in mammals - are arachnoid granulations the main route of cerebrospinal fluid outflow?

Wojciech Sokołowski  1 , Karolina Barszcz  1 , Marta Kupczyńska  1 , Norbert Czubaj  1 , Michał Skibniewski  1 , Halina Purzyc  2
Affiliations
Review

Lymphatic drainage of cerebrospinal fluid in mammals - are arachnoid granulations the main route of cerebrospinal fluid outflow?

Wojciech Sokołowski et al. Biologia (Bratisl). 2018.

Abstract

The outflow of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in animals was over the years the subject of detailed analysis. For a long time it was stated that arachnoid granulations of the venous sinuses play a key role in CSF circulation. However, recent studies on this subject have shown that a considerable part of the CSF is drained to the lymphatic vessels. Moreover, disorders in the CSF passage may result in severe central nervous system diseases such as e.g. hydrocephalus. In this paper, we summarize the current knowledge concerning the lymphatic drainage of the CSF in mammals. We present in detail comparative anatomy of different species taking into account cranial and spinal compartment. In addition, we clarified role of the lymphatic vessels in the CSF outflow and the relationship between impairment in this transport and central nervous system diseases. In the author's opinion knowledge on CSF circulation is still poorly examined and therefore required comment.

Keywords: Cerebrospinal fluid; Cribriform plate; Hydrocephalus; Lymphatic drainage.

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Conflict of interest statement

Compliance with ethical standardsThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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