ABSTRACT

Hydrocephalus means excessive fluid within the cranial cavity. However, in a medical context, hydrocephalus is defined as a disturbance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation causing the accumulation of intraventricular CSF, resulting in progressive ventricular dilatation (Mori et al. 1995). Hydrocephalus is virtually always due to an increase in the resistance of CSF flow within the CSF circulatory pathways resulting in an increase in CSF pressure, with the exception of rare disorders of excessive CSF production, for example as a result of a brain tumour.