The osmotic concept of the intracranial pressure

Abstract

For the first time the intracranial pressure (ICP) in humans was recorded as pulsatile curve by Giacomini and Mosso in 37-year-old woman with syphilitic infection in 1876 [1]. Nowadays, ICP recording is widely used in neurosurgery and neurointensive units. Although the intraventricular pressure monitoring is the “gold standard”, there are some indirect and non-invasive routes to estimate the value of the intracranial pressure. The main alternative methods are: visual evoked potentials, phase-contrast magnetic resonance, transcranial Doppler, tympanic membrane displacement, intraocular pressure and acoustoelasticity.