Poster : NEUROANATOMY: OVERVIEW AND VENTRICULAR SYSTEM Part 2

The human brain is so vital and delicate that it is fully encased in a bony vault in order to protect it from damage. To add even more protection, the brain is wrapped in three meningeal layers – dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia mater. However, even with all those layers, there is still space surrounding the brain that makes it vulnerable to injury.


This space is therefore occupied by a clear fluid that suspends the brain within the cranial vault. The fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) is produced in the ventricular system of the brain. There are four such hollow spaces in the brain that house cerebrospinal fluid (CSF): two lateral ventricles, a third ventricle and a fourth ventricle.



The ventricles of the brain are a communicating network of cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and located within the brain parenchyma. The ventricular system is composed of 2 lateral ventricles, the third ventricle, the cerebral aqueduct, and the fourth ventricle (see the images below). The choroid plexuses are located in the ventricles produce CSF, which fills the ventricles and subarachnoid space, following a cycle of constant production and reabsorption.

Source 1; 2