Olfactory route for cerebrospinal fluid drainage into the cervical lymphatic system in a rabbit experimental model

The present study analyzed the anatomical association between intracranial subarachnoid space and the cervical lymphatic system. X-ray contrast medium and Microfil(®) (Microfil compounds fill and opacify microvascular and other spaces of non-surviving animals and post-mortem tissue under physiological injection pressure) were injected into the cisterna magna of the rabbit, and perineural routes of cerebrospinal fluid outflow into the lymphatic system were visualized. Under a surgical operating microscope, Microfil was found within the subarachnoid space and along the olfactory nerves. At the nasal mucosa, a lymphatic network was identified near the olfactory nerves, which crossed the nasopharyngeal region and finally emptied into the superficial and deep cervical lymph nodes. Under a light microscope, Microfil was visible around the olfactory nerves and within lymphatic vessels. These results suggested that cerebrospinal fluid drained from the subarachnoid space along the olfactory nerves to nasal lymphatic vessels, which in turn, emptied into the cervical lymph nodes. This anatomical route, therefore, allowed connection between the central nervous system and the lymphatic system.