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Updated: May 25, 2025

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Published on: July 29, 2019
Nuclear Cerebrospinal Fluid Imaging: Guide to Procedures and Interpretation
Megan K Mercer1, Lisa C Blacklock1, Jonathan W Revels1
1From the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas St, CSB 211N, MSC 323, Charleston, SC 29425 (M.K.M., S. Elojeimy); Department of Radiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (L.C.B., S. Elman); Department of Radiology, New York University Langone Health Long Island, New York, NY (J.W.R.); Departments of Radiology and Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash (M.T.P.); Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash (D.H.L., M.C.M.); Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY (L.S.Z.); and Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa (M.M.G.).
Abstract:
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an essential component of the central nervous system, and disruption of normal CSF flow from the lateral ventricles to the subarachnoid spaces around the brain and spinal canal can have serious consequences. Nuclear imaging may be useful to help diagnose abnormalities in CSF flow; cisternograms can be used to assess for CSF leaks or normal-pressure hydrocephalus, and shuntograms can be used to evaluate for CSF shunt malfunction. The authors review normal and pathologic findings and pitfalls of cisternography and shuntogram examinations. ©RSNA, 2025.
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