cerebrospinal fluid

noun

: a colorless liquid that is comparable to serum, is secreted from the blood into the lateral ventricles of the brain, and serves chiefly to maintain uniform pressure within the brain and spinal cord

Examples of cerebrospinal fluid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatment for this often reversible condition involves placing a shunt in the skull to drain excess cerebrospinal fluid. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026

The disorder occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain. —Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026

NDEs, much like a flourishing young man with a skull full of cerebrospinal fluid, offer a powerful suggestion that consciousness may be more than a projection of the brain. —Christian Wiman, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

By combining the fields, surgeons can navigate through blood vessels or cerebrospinal fluid with accuracy. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cerebrospinal fluid

• druid

Kids Definition

cerebrospinal fluid

noun

ce·​re·​bro·​spi·​nal fluid

sə-ˌrē-brō-ˌspīn-ᵊl-

: a colorless fluid that occupies the cavities of the brain and spinal cord and the space between these and the membranes surrounding them

Medical Definition

cerebrospinal fluid

noun

: a liquid that is comparable to serum but contains less dissolved material, that is secreted from the blood into the lateral ventricles of the brain by the choroid plexus, circulates through the ventricles to the spaces between the meninges about the brain and spinal cord, and is resorbed into the blood through the subarachnoid sinuses, and that serves chiefly to maintain uniform pressure within the brain and spinal cord

called also spinal fluid

compare lymph