Measurement of brain tissue pressure in cold induced cerebral oedema.

Experiments were performed in order to evaluate the concept that brain oedema is associated with an increase in local interstitial fluid pressure. Assuming that the pressure measured by the cotton wick technique represents the hydrostatic interstitial fluid pressure, the tissue pressure was recorded with pressure transducers in the white matter adjacent and remote to a local cold injury, in the opposite hemisphere, and in the cisterna magna. In 9 cats during steady-state conditions mean tissue pressures between 1.20±0.30 mm Hg and 2.33±0.80 mm Hg were found, as compared to a mean CSF pressure of 5.17±0.82 mm Hg. The tissue pressure was found to increase significantly adjacent to the lesion …