Syrinx fluid transport: modeling pressure-wave-induced flux across the spinal pial membrane
Access Status
Authors
Date
2012Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
Collection
Abstract
Syrinxes are fluid-filled cavities of the spinal cord that characterize syringomyelia, a disease involving neurological damage. Their formation and expansion is poorly understood, which has hindered successful treatment. Syrinx cavities are hydraulically connected with the spinal subarachnoid space (SSS) enveloping the spinal cord via the cord interstitium and the network of perivascular spaces (PVSs), which surround blood vessels penetrating the pial membrane that is adherent to the cord surface. Since the spinal canal supports pressure wave propagation, it has been hypothesized that wave-induced fluid exchange across the pial membrane may play a role in syrinx filling. To investigate this conjecture a pair of one-dimensional (1-d) analytical models were developed from classical elastic tube theory coupled with Darcy’s law for either perivascular or interstitial flow. The results show that transpial flux serves as a mechanism for damping pressure waves by alleviating hoop stress in the pial membrane. The timescale ratio over which viscous and inertial forces compete was explicitly determined, which predicts that dilated PVS, SSS flow obstructions, and a stiffer and thicker pial membrane—all associated with syringomyelia—will increase transpial flux and retard wave travel. It was also revealed that the propagation of a pressure wave is aided by a less-permeable pial membrane and, in contrast, by a more-permeable spinal cord. This is the first modeling of the spinal canal to include both pressure-wave propagation along the spinal axis and a pathway for fluid to enter and leave the cord, which provides an analytical foundation from which to approach the full poroelastic problem.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Elliott, N.; Lucey, Anthony; Lockerby, D.; Brodbelt, A. (2017)© 2016Syringomyelia is a disease of the spinal cord in which fluid-filled cavities, called syrinxes, form and expand, compressing the surrounding neural tissue and producing neurological damage. This condition can occur ...
-
Elliott, N.; Lucey, Anthony; Lockerby, D.; Brodbelt, A. (2014)In the disease syringomyelia, fluid-filled cavities, called syrinxes, form in the spinal cord. The expansion of these pathological pressure vessels compresses the surrounding nerve fibers and blood supply, which is ...
-
Elliott, Novak; Lockerby, D.; Brodbelt, A. (2009)Syringomyelia is a disease in which fluid-filled cavities, called syrinxes, form in the spinal cord causing progressive loss of sensory and motor functions. Invasive monitoring of pressure waves in the spinal subarachnoid ...