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At the beginning of the 20th century, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection and analysis emerged as a promising aid in the diagnosis of diseases of the central nervous system. It was obtained through the established procedure of lumbar puncture, described by Heinrich Quinke in 1891. The search for an alternative way to gather the CSF emerged in animal research, highlighting the cisterna magna as a promising source, with relative safety when performed by someone trained. Described initially and in detail by James Ayer in 1920, the procedure was widely adopted by neurologists and psychiatrists at the time, featuring its multiple advantages and clinical applications. After a period of great procedure use and exponential data collection, its complications and risks relegated the puncture of the cisterna magna as an alternative route that causes fear and fascination in modern Neurology.

Objective: To evaluate safety of stylet-in and stylet-out techniques for collection of CSF from the cisterna magna and to assess whether there were differences between techniques with regard to contamination of samples, sample quality, and efficiency of collection., Animals: 10 adult purpose-bred research Beagles., Procedures: A prospective crossover study was conducted. Preanesthetic physical and neurologic examinations and hematologic analyses were performed. Dogs were anesthetized, and collection of CSF samples from the cisterna magna by use of a stylet-in or stylet-out technique was performed. Two weeks later, samples were collected with the other sample collection technique. Samples of CSF were processed within 1 hour after collection., Results: Cellular debris was detected in higher numbers in stylet-in samples, although this did not affect sample quality. The stylet-out technique was performed more rapidly. No adverse effects were detected for either technique., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Both techniques could be safely performed in healthy anesthetized dogs. The stylet-out technique was performed more rapidly and yielded a sample with less cellular debris. Both techniques can be used in clinical practice to yield CSF samples with good diagnostic quality.

Background: The composition of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an invaluable parameter in better understanding of cellular and molecular processes within the mammalian brain. However, the collection of significant volumes of clean CSF can be technically challenging in studies with laboratory mice. Over the past five decades, several approaches have been developed to maximize the quantity and quality of CSF samples, either from live or euthanized animals. Due to the small amounts collected, samples from single mice were often pooled or diluted to meet volume requirements of automated counters and multiple assays., New Method: This paper reviews previous work on CSF collection in mice, thus providing methodological background for the current post-mortem procedure. This modified cisternal puncture method involves the use of a peristaltic pump for consistent and slow intracardiac perfusion, as well as a loupe headset with a custom-made glass pipette for piercing a single hole in the atlanto-occipital membrane during repeated CSF draws. Sample cleanness is verified by comparing the colour of the glass pipette and the bottom of centrifuged PCR vial against a white background., Results: With three trained experimenters, the entire procedure (including anesthesia) takes ∼11-13 min and often results in the collection of up to 40 μl of clean CSF from males of different murine strains. Properly staggered collections allow processing of relatively large cohorts of mice per day., Conclusions: This modification of previously employed methods can be used in studies that require tightly-timed collections of larger volumes of undiluted, tissue-free CSF and/or individual data records., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Component analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is frequently required to probe the causes and pathologic mechanisms of disease and effective drugs in experimental studies of the central nervous system. Rat and mouse are two kinds of most frequently used animals in experimental studies. Rats are considered to be the most suitable animal for experimental analysis of CSF both on cost and manipulability as mice are too small for drawing CSF. However, drawing CSF from rats is still not easy, which makes many researchers choose bigger animals, such as rabbits. This paper introduced a highly applicable technique of CSF collection from cerebellomedullary cistern (CC) in rats., Methods: CSF collection with this technique was performed by direct CC puncture using a collection apparatus with negative pressure. The apparatus consists of a 1ml syringe, a disposable intravenous infusion needle and a clip. The needle was cut and made less sharp than the original one to avoid injury to the brain and spinal cord., Results: We have collected CSF multiple times from each rat with this approach and the collection lasted less than 30s each time on average. The length of the collection needles of the CSF was conformed to the different body sizes (weight) of the rats in the 3 groups. Compared with currently existing methods, this is faster, safer, simpler and repeatable., Conclusions: CSF collection by CC puncture using a negative pressure collection apparatus is fast to operate, safe to the rats, and maximum amount of CSF can be collected., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A method is described for chronic cannulation of the cisterna magna to enable repeated sampling of cerebrospinal fluid from conscious, ambulatory sheep by means of a flexible vinyl tube. Ease of sampling and duration of cannula patency are similar to those obtained with rigid, metal cannulae, but this modified method minimizes the degree of surgical intervention, and possible trauma, occurring during placement of the cannula., (© The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.)

A new approach was developed to minimize inevitable damage to nervous and meningeal tissue due to implantation of a sampling tube allowing multiple withdrawal of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the cisterna magna in adult rats. A tube was secured on the atlanto-occipital membrane. Thereafter, a hole was cut through the membrane, allowing flow of CSF from the cisterna magna to the tube. CSF could be sampled repeatedly for at least 1 week. There was no blood-brain barrier damage. The pressure in the cisterna magna remained normal as did the estimated rate of CSF formation. Very few blood cells contaminated the CSF. There was very little evidence of inflammation. The nervous tissue was undamaged as shown by exclusion of a dye-protein complex. The CSF concentrations of the cytosolic neuronal protein neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and of the astrocyte protein S-100 were very low. The pattern of amino acids remained within normal limits. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that clot and reactive changes were restricted to the vicinity of the connecting hole. We conclude that our approach to positioning a tube on the atlanto-occipital membrane and then connecting it to the cisterna magna reproducibly and reliably enables 'atraumatic' multiple sampling of CSF.

The measurement of central levels of neurochemicals is an important approach to the understanding of the neurophysiological basis of behavior patterns in animals. Previous studies have utilized central sampling techniques developed for individually housed animals. The purpose of this study was to develop a cannulation technique and a method for sampling cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from socially housed birds to facilitate the study of the neurophysiological basis of social behaviors. The cannulation technique involved the surgical implantation of a 22-gauge concentric guide cannula into the cisterna magna of 16-wk-old, feed-restricted male broiler breeders (n = 6). Individual-specific coordinates and optimum angle and depth of implantation of the cannula were determined in order to place the cannula correctly in the designated site. Once implanted, the guide cannula proved to be unobtrusive and secure and did not attract aggressive pecking from other birds in the pen. Two methods of CSF sampling were then examined. The first method required the use of a push-pull perfusion pump to withdraw CSF at a rate of 1 to 2 microL/min. The second method (passive), which did not use a pump, involved simply removing a "dummy" cannula from the guide cannula to release the CSF, which was then collected with a glass Hamilton syringe. Samples ranging from 100 to 500 microL were collected using the passive method. The combination of the cannulation technique described and the passive sampling method proved to be the most simple, efficient, and reliable method for measuring central levels of neurochemicals in socially housed broiler breeder males.

A method of cannulating the cisterna magna of sheep is described. Successful cannulations were achieved in 15 of 17 attempts (88%). Mean cannula patency was 13.9 days (range 7-20). Using these cannulas, it was possible to obtain samples of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in large volumes (4-8 ml) and remove 20-30 ml of CSF over a 5 h period. This technique allows access to the CSF of an animal large enough for the removal of samples of CSF of sufficient size to detect materials present at very low concentrations.

Methods have been developed for the placement of cannulas in the lateral cerebral ventricle and cisternum magnum of the fetal lamb. Three to seven days after surgery, perfusion of the cerebral ventricular system was carried out in unanesthetized lambs in utero. Artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was perfused at 123 microliter/min for 4-5 h with no change in fetal arterial O2 pressure, CO2 pressure, pH, mean arterial blood pressure, or heart rate. The preparation is suitable for measurements of net formation of fetal central CSF and also for producing changes in the ionic composition of the fetal CSF.

1. An operation on dogs for the implantation of guide tubes to the lateral ventricle and cisterna magna and a method whereby the ventricular space can be repeatedly perfused in conscious and unrestrained animals are described.2. The characteristics of a recirculatory perfusion system were examined and the bulk formation and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid and the volume of the ventricular space perfused were derived from the concentrations achieved during the infusion of inulin into the system.3. 5-hydroxyindol-3-ylacetic acid (5-HIAA), the acid metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (HVA), the main acid metabolite of dopamine, were demonstrated to be mainly removed from cerebrospinal fluid (c.s.f.) by an active transport system localized in the region of the fourth ventricle.4. It was possible to inhibit the active transport of these acids from cerebrospinal fluid by pre-treating the dogs with probenecid.