A post-op patient that had a shunt inserted to relieve and aid in CSF flow came in complaining of pain and incessant headaches. Looking at her cat scan, we noted how one can see the shunt in every photographic cut as a white oval representative of the shunt drain line. However, other white spots were also visible around the third ventricle.
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| http://www.psyweb.com/Brain/brainv0.jsp |
The whiteness showing on the cat scan was the result of calcification of the choroid plexus that surrounds both the third and fourth ventricles in the brain and is responsible for CSF secretion. Apparently, in its normal state, it very much represents red cauliflower:
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http://www.psyweb.com/Brain/brainv23.jsp
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The ventricle complex in the brain is wholly responsible for CSF fluid and the insertion of CSF into the bloodstream via villi at the base of the Fourth Ventricle. When the Choroid Plexus calcifies, it is most commonly the result of age but can also be the result of neurofibromatosis or other serious mental disease. In our patient, a combination of age and neurofibromatosis is the understood reasoning for the calcification. Because of the patient's possible harboring of neurofibromatosis, she is closely monitored by the staff and is constantly getting new screenings.
The original purpose of her surgery, the shunt, was the result of her showing symptoms of excessive pressure within her brain which caused CSF leaks on both sides of her brain. The calcified choroid plexus looks like the below:
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing your experience. I am learning about the choroid plexus and it makes so much more sense when put into anecdotal context :)
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