How Does the Craniospinal System Cope with a Disturbance of Its Volume

In coping with a volume load (volume accommodation) the craniospinal system has two mechanisms at its disposal which should be clearly distinguished: volume storage or buffering and volume compensation. The volume storage capacity is determined by the “elastic” properties of the system and mathematically expressed by the craniospinal volume-pressure relationship. Since the Second International Symposium on Intracranial Pressure (ICP; Lund, 1974) much emphasis has been put on the importance of the assessment of the volume-pressure relationship in predicting the course of ICP, when the craniospinal system is exposed to further volume increments.