A LUMPED PARAMETER MODEL OF CEREBROSPINAL FLUID SYSTEM

The many mutually interacting phenomena which control cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and reflect them to other physiologic systems constitute a rattier complex mechanism. The classical piecemeal approach for analysis is not suited to study the interactions of multiple parameter changes or the manner in which some evoked change in the cerebrospinal fluid system reflects itself on other parts of the mechanism. A lumped parameter model of the cerebrospinal fluid system is developed and presented in terms of hydraulic and electrical analogies. The parameter values in these models are obtained by direct calculations using the available physiologic data and by analog simulation. The model illustrates the complex interdependence of the various variables which control the cerebrospinal fluid system. Several phenomena of neurosurgical interest are explored through the model and the controlling mechanisms in each case are pinpointed. Copyright © 1969 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.