Brain tissue pressure measurements in perinatal and adult rabbits

Brain tissue pressure (BTP) in pre- and post-natal anesthetized rabbits, held in a stereotactic head holder, was measured with a fluid filled 23 gauge open-ended cannula connected distally to a pressure transducer. By advancing the cannula step wise through a hole in the cranium it was possible to sequentially measure pressure from the cranial subarachnoid space, cortex, ventricle and basal ganglia. Separate cannulas and transducers were used to measure CSFP from the cisterna magna and arterial and/or venous pressure. Pressure recordings obtained when the tip of the BTP cannula was located in the cranial subarachnoid space or ventricle exhibited respiratory and blood pressure pulsations equivalent to and in phase with CSF pulsations recorded from the cisterna magna. When the tip was advanced into brain parenchymal sites such pulsations were suppressed or non-detectable unless communication with a CSF compartment had been established inadvertently. Although CSF pressures in the three spinal fluid compartments were equivalent, in most animals BTP was higher than CSFP. However, after momentary venting of the system BTP equilibrated at a pressure below that of CSFP. We speculate that venting of the low compliance system (1.20 x 10(-5) ml/mmHg) relieves the isometric pressure build-up due to insertion of the cannula into brain parenchyma. Under these conditions, and at all ages examined, BTP in the rabbit is consistently lower than CSFP and, as with CSFP, it increases as the animal matures.