Publication date
Clare Rusbridge, Penny Knowler
The Need for Head Space: Brachycephaly and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders
The Need for Head Space: Brachycephaly and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders
Summary
Brachycephalic dogs remain popular, despite the knowledge that this head conformation is associated with health problems, including airway compromise, ocular disorders, neurological disease, and other co-morbidities. There is increasing evidence that brachycephaly disrupts cerebrospinal fluid movement and absorption, predisposing ventriculomegaly, hydrocephalus, quadrigeminal cistern expansion, Chiari-like malformation, and syringomyelia. In this review, we focus on cerebrospinal fluid physiology and how this is impacted by brachycephaly, airorhynchy, and associated craniosynostosis.