What Is Happening in Syringomyelia?
The driving force for creating the abnormal fluid pocket seems to be the beating of the heart and the pulse it generates. Each pulse generates a pressure wave in the CSF, displacing fluid from the brain and down into the spinal cord. This is how CSF normally accomplishes circulation but in syringomyelia patients there is some kind of obstruction to CSF flow. This creates increased CSF pressure around the obstruction and CSF can actually be pumped directly into the spinal cord tissue. This distends the cord, creating fluid pockets. The fluid is not CSF but simply what is called extracellular fluid. The distended cord exacerbates the obstruction of CSF flow, thus creating a progressive problem (i.e. a vicious cycle). Why Is this a Back of the Neck Problem in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? The brain is commonly thought of as one organ, just as the skull is often thought of as one bone. In fact, the brain has many parts, all very different, and the skull consists of many bones fused to
