Communicating hydrocephalus induced by mechanically increased amplitude of the intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid pressure: Experimental studies

Abstract Acute and chronic hydrocephalus was induced in lambs by mechanically increasing the amplitude of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) intraventricular pulse pressure without modifying the mean CSF pressure and without interfering with CSF circulation or absorption. The characteristics of the hydrocephalus so obtained, namely, the asymmetry of ventricular dilation, the dilation of the distal portions of the ventricular system, and the absence of obstructions in CSF pathways, indicated a direct role of high-amplitude intraventricular CSF pulsations in the genesis of ventricular enlargement. As no impairment in CSF circulation or absorption was induced nor variations in CSF mean pressure, this experimental model is proposed as a model for communicating hydrocephalus.