CSF protects the brain and spinal cord from injury by acting like a liquid cushion. CSF is usually obtained through a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). During the procedure,   more »

Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) is a clear fluid that circulates in the space surrounding the spinal cord and brain. CSF protects the brain and spinal cord from injury by acting like a liquid cushion.   more »

A lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, is a procedure to collect cerebrospinal fluid to check for the presence of disease or injury. A spinal needle is inserted, usually between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae in the lower spine. Once the needle is   more »

kept thinking that ‘Lumbar Puncture’ sounded so ominous. I knew that lumbar meant the spinal cord and that puncture meant hole. I wondered who would knowingly want to have someone create a hole in any area of their spinal cord. Then I   more »

When I was booked for my lumbar puncture the neurologist’s nurse said “Drink a lot of coke during the day before your lumbar puncture, as well as on the day you have your lumbar puncture, in the morning before you actually have it”. She continued, “The more coke you drink the better it will be afterwards.” She also   more »

Spinal headaches occur in up to 30 percent of the people who undergo a spinal tap (lumbar puncture) or spinal anesthesia. Both these procedures require a puncture in the tough membrane that surrounds the spinal cord. During a spinal tap   more »

Drinking coke at 6:00 AM in the morning, on the day of my Lumbar Puncture, was difficult.  I arrived at the hospital at 8:00 A.M. ...   more »

When I was booked for my lumbar puncture the neurologist’s receptionist said “Drink a lot of Coca-Cola during the day before your lumbar puncture, as ...   more »

What a Spinal Tap or Lumbar Puncture is:

 

A long, thin, hollow needle is inserted between two vertebrae in the lower spine and into ...   more »

Physicians may be able to determine which patients will ultimately develop clinically definite MS after a clinically isolated syndrome by testing the levels of certain proteins cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid in and around a patient's brain, according to   more »