Symptomatic Occult Hydrocephalus with Normal Cerebrospinal-Fluid Pressure

THE term hydrocephalus refers to distention of the cerebral ventricles, usually as the result of obstruction somewhere along the pathway of the cerebrospinal-fluid circulation. Occult indicates that enlargement of the ventricles has occurred after union of the cranial sutures, and hence the head remains of normal size. Hydrocephalus is said to be noncommunicating or obstructive if the blockade of circulation is in the ventricular system and communicating or nonobstructive if there is a normal patency of the pathways from the ventricular system to the lumbar subarachnoid space. Its causes are numerous and include tumors encroaching on the ventricles, carcinomatosis of . . .