Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a biologic fluid, formed mainly in the ventricular choroid plexus, distributed within the ventricular system, basal cisterns, and subarachnoid space. Analysis of the CSF provides invaluable diagnostic information because diseases take place either within its bounding membranes (e.g., meningitis) or in the adjoining parameningeal structures of the brain (e.g., brain abscess).
Table 74.1 lists normal lumbar CSF values for adults. A detailed discussion of normal values and the factors affecting them can be found in Fishman (1980).
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.