What Causes Intracranial Hypertension?
The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, and are enclosed within bony skull and the spinal canal. CSF is made by specialized cells in the lateral and fourth ventricles, or brain chambers, which communicate with the spinal canal. Intracranial hypertension, or ICH, is an elevated CSF pressure within the skull, commonly measured by a catheter placed in one of the lateral ventricles. Intracranial pressure above or equal to 20 mmHg denotes ICH, which is caused by either brain swelling or increased CSF volume as a result of trauma, blood vessel disorders, tumors and infection.
