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

Having a large needle inserted into my spine for 20 minutes in order to collect enough cerebrospinal fluid was terrifying. —Michelle Maves, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025

The flow of blood to the brain slows down, and the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid speeds up. —Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 17 Oct. 2025

Another diagnostic option involves measuring amyloid beta and certain modified forms of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, but collecting this fluid requires a lumbar puncture, which many people find too invasive. —Robert Martone, Scientific American, 10 Oct. 2025

According to the Cleveland Clinic, LMD is an incurable condition in which cancer cells spread from an advanced cancer to the cerebrospinal fluid and the membranes around the brain and spinal cord. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 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