The central nervous system is the brain and spinal cord. Blood-borne metastases to the central nervous system most often take the form of solid round lumps in the brain. Cancer cells can also lodge and grow in the covering of the brain and spinal cord. This covering is called the meninges (you have probably heard of meningitis, which is inflammation of this covering). This covering encloses the cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF), which surrounds and cushions the entire brain and spinal cord.
Cancer in the central nervous system produces symptoms by two completely different means. Firstly, the cancer growths interfere with the function of the part of the brain or spinal cord that they are growing in or near. Secondly, as the cancer deposits grow, they cause a build up of pressure in the whole central nervous system. This happens because the brain and spinal cord are completely enclosed in solid bone—the skull and vertebral column. As the cancer grows, pressure builds up because there is hardly any room for things to enlarge.
*110/40/1*
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.