Prediction of the Impact of Craniospinal Compliance on the Relative Timing of Arterial and Cerebrospinal Fluid Pulsations and Perivascular Fluid Flow Into the Spinal Cord

Craniospinal compliance (CC) has been hypothesized to have importance in craniospinal disorders such as hydrocephalus and syringomyelia in which tissue edema occurs. In this study we assess the impact of CC on 1) the relative timing of spinal cord blood flow (SCBF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pulsations and 2) perivascular flow (PVS) into the spinal cord (SC). A previously developed coupled model of the cardiovascular and CSF system is utilized to obtain the results. The results predict that CC can significantly alter the relative timing of arterial and CSF pulsations in the spine and total perivascular flow to the SC. CC was found to have the greatest impact on relative timing and PVF in the lumbar spine and to a lesser extent in the cervical and thoracic spine. A reduction in CC resulted in increased PVF to the SC that might help to explain tissue edema present in craniospinal disorders with reduced CC.