Ventricular System of the Brain &CSF Circulation Illustration from Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site. http://cnx.org/content/col11496/1.6/

The ventricular system in the brain consists of four cavities that are interconnected and function together to ensure that many of the biological needs of the body's systems are met. The four cavities that exist in the human brain are what are referred to as the ventricles, and the ventricles represent a range of different sizes. These structures develop early in the embryological development in humans and are an offshoot of the neural canal in the early stages of an embryo's growth. These ventricles perform a vital function for the body through the production of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by the choroid plexuses that are located within them. This paper will briefly give an illustrated introduction to the development, structure, and functioning of this vital bodily function.

Development and Structure

The brain ventricular system is composed of a highly conserved set of cavities that contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a protein-rich fluid essential for brain function, yet, little is known about the function of embryonic CSF (eCSF), or the mechanisms of CSF production, retention, and circulation that regulate brain ventricle shape and size (Chang, 2012). Researchers however are...

For example, some research has used zebrafish as subjects so that they can dissect the brain at different stages of development to study it and have identified insights such as the fact that Na, K-ATPase regulates three aspects of brain ventricle development essential for normal function - neuroepithelial formation, permeability, and CSF production (Chang, 2012). Figure 2 - https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Neural_-_Ventricular_System_Development
Yet, despite whatever limitations may exist today in the understanding of how this system forms, much of the development is understood in a more general sense. For example, the ventricular system develops from the single cavity formed from the hollow neural tube and this fluid-filled space is separated from the amnion following fusion of the neural tube and closure of neuropores; the neuropores are at different regions sites within the wall (floor of lateral ventricle and roof of the third and fourth ventricles) differentiate to form choroid plexus a modified vascular structure which will produce cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (Embryology, 2016). In the adult, the choroid plexus produces about two thirds of the CSF, the rest is produced by ventricular ependymal cells and…