Lumbar Puncture (cont.)
Medical Author:
Kenneth Kaye, MD
Kenneth Kaye, MDDr. Kaye received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from the University of California, San Diego in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences. After graduating from New York Medical College, he completed his internship and residency training in pathology at Harbor - UCLA Medical Center. Medical Editor:
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR
William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACRDr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology. In this Article
 Why is a lumbar puncture done? An LP is most commonly peformed to diagnose a disease, namely to obtain a sample of the fluid in the spinal canal (the cerebrospinal fluid) for examination. An LP can also be done to treat diseases. For example, as a way of administering antibiotics, cancer drugs, or anesthetic agents into the spinal canal. Spinal fluid is sometimes removed by LP for the purpose of decreasing spinal fluid pressure in patients with uncommon conditions (such as, for examples, normal-pressure hydrocephalus and benign intracranial hypertension). The patient is typically lying down sideways for the procedure. Less often, the procedure is performed while the patient is sitting up. LPs in infants are often done upright. After local anesthesia is injected into the small of the back (the lumbar area), a needle is inserted in between the nearby bony building blocks (vertebrae) into the spinal canal. (The needle is usually placed between the 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae). Spinal fluid pressure can then be measured and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) removed for testing. What is the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)? The CSF circulates around the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system). This "water bath" acts as a support of buoyancy for the brain and spinal cord. The support of the CSF helps to protect the brain from injury. The normal CSF contains various chemicals, such as protein and sugar (glucose), and few if any cells. The spinal fluid also has a normal pressure when first removed. |
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