2018/10/26 by Graham Dupont, Cameron Schmidt, Emre Yilmaz +4 · 1 citation
Neuroscience · Medicine · #Cerebrospinal fluid and hydrocephalus #Spinal Dysraphism and Malformations #Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances #Lymphatic system #Glymphatic system #Interstitial fluid #Medicine #Cerebrospinal fluid #Spinal cord #Lymph #Anatomy #Pathology #Ventricular system #Immune system #Neuroscience #Biology #Immunology
paper · doi:10.1002/ca.23308
openalex publication_date 2018/10/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The lymphatic system, segregated from the blood vascular system, is an essential anatomical route along which interstitial fluid, solutes, lipids, immune cells, and cellular debris, are conveyed. However, the way these mechanisms operate within the cranial compartment is mostly unknown. Herein, we review current understanding of the meningeal lymphatics, described anatomically over a century ago yet still poorly understood from a functional standpoint. We will delineate the cellular mechanisms by which the meningeal lymphatics are formed and discuss their unique anatomy. Furthermore, this review will discuss the recently-coined "glymphatic system" and the manner by which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and interstitial fluid (ISF) are exchanged and thus drained by the meningeal lymphatic vasculature as a key route for conveying cellular waste, solutes, and immune traffic to the deep cervical lymph nodes. The clinical relevance of the meningeal lymphatics will also be described, as they are relevant to various common defects of the lymphatic system. Clin. Anat. 32:117-121, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.