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

Jabbour said an endovascular cerebrospinal fluid shunt, or E-shunt, is threaded into the brain with a catheter that's inserted through the groin. — Stephanie Stahl, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026

Sometimes called a pseudotumor, it is caused by elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure around the brain and optic nerves. — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 3 Aug. 2026

Also called a spinal tap, a lumbar puncture involves using a syringe to withdraw a sample of cerebrospinal fluid from the lower back, per Mayo Clinic. — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026

The study included 416 people with Alzheimer’s disease who were randomly assigned to receive one of three different doses of diranersen or a placebo twice a year, delivered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid via a lumbar puncture. — Alice Park, Time, 15 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cerebrospinal fluid

• druid
• superfluid

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