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Figure 2 | Fluids and Barriers of the CNS

Figure 2

From: The pulsating brain: A review of experimental and clinical studies of intracranial pulsatility

Figure 2

The normal exponential pressure-volume relationship of the cranium. The increase in pressure pulsatility with increased mean pressure is a result of the relationship between pressure and volume, which follows an exponential curve. At normal intracranial pressure (ICP) levels, the increase of intracranial blood volume in systole leads to a small increase in intracranial pressure, hence a normally small intracranial pulse wave (lower waveform, typical amplitude ~ 1 mmHg). With increases in intracranial pressure, the concurrent reduction in intracranial compliance leads to a dramatic increase in the pulse wave, even with no change in the arterial pressure wave (upper waveform). The intracranial pressure-volume curve was first introduced by Marmarou et al in 1975 [3], from which this figure was adapted.

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