File:Hydrocephalus_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
hydrocephalus
Sign in to saveAlso known as hydrocephalus, X-linked, hydrocephalus, nonsyndromic, autosomal recessive, Meningoencephalocele
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within and/or around the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) may have poor balance, difficulty controlling urination or mental impairment. In babies, there may be a rapid increase in head size. Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, seizures, and downward pointing of the eyes.
Key facts
- Medical condition.image
- Hydrocephalus (cropped).jpg
- Medical condition.caption
- Hydrocephalus as seen on a CT scan of the brain. The black areas in the middle of the brain (the lateral ventricles) are abnormally large and filled with fluid.
- Medical condition.field
- neurosurgery
- Medical condition.synonyms
- Water on the brain
- Medical condition.symptoms
- Babies: rapid head growth, vomiting, sleepiness, seizuresOlder people: Headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary incontinence, personality changes, mental impairment
- Medical condition.causes
- Neural tube defects, meningitis, brain tumors, traumatic brain injury, brain bleed during birth, intraventricular hemorrhage
- Medical condition.risks
- Smoking
- Medical condition.diagnosis
- Based on symptoms and medical imaging
- Medical condition.treatment
- Surgery
- Medical condition.prognosis
- Variable, often normal life
- Medical condition.frequency
- Varies throughout the world, from 1 per 256 live births to 1 per 9,000, depending on access to prenatal health care, prenatal tests, and abortion
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
43,217 papers- Infant Hydrocephalus.Pediatrics in review · 2024
- Hydrocephalus: historical analysis and considerations for treatment.European journal of medical research · 2022
- Noncommunicating Hydrocephalus.Seminars in ultrasound, CT, and MR · 2016
- Adult Hydrocephalus Clinical Subtypes.Neurosurgery clinics of North America · 2025
- Congenital Hydrocephalus.The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice · 2016
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Hydrocephalic skull.jpg
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Hydrocephalus
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C3111
- ICPC 2 ID
- N85
- exact match
- purl.obolibrary.org/obo/SYMP_0000051
Sources (6)
via Wikidata · CC0
~34 min read
Article
25 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Infants
- Children
- Adults
- Causes
- Primary
- Secondary (Acquired)
- Mechanism
- Mechanism of symptoms
- Classification
- Communicating
- Noncommunicating
- Treatments
- Procedures
- External hydrocephalus
- Shunt complications
- Epidemiology
- History
- Society and culture
- Name
- Awareness
- Notable cases
- See also
- References
- External links
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within and/or around the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) may have poor balance, difficulty controlling urination or mental impairment. In babies, there may be a rapid increase in head size. Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, seizures, and downward pointing of the eyes.
Hydrocephalus can occur due to birth defects (primary) or can develop later in life (secondary). Hydrocephalus can be classified via mechanism into communicating, noncommunicating, ex vacuo, and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Diagnosis is made by physical examination and medical imaging, such as a CT scan.