Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Cerebral Edema

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Cerebral Edema

Sara M. Nehring et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

The most basic definition of cerebral edema is swelling of the brain. It is a relatively common phenomenon with numerous etiologies. Cerebral edema categorizes into either vasogenic, cellular, osmotic, and interstitial causes. It can arise from a variety of causes, including head trauma, vascular ischemia, intracranial lesions, or obstructive hydrocephalus resulting in interstitial edema. The consequences of cerebral edema can be devastating, even fatal, if untreated.

The explanation of the mechanism of injury arising from cerebral edema comes via the Monroe-Kellie doctrine. The Monroe-Kellie doctrine states that space of the cranial cavity is fixed in volume and contains fixed proportions of brain matter (approximately1400 ml), blood (approximately 150 ml) and cerebrospinal fluid (approximately 150 ml). Because of this fixed space, an increase in the volume of one of these components must, therefore, result in the loss of another component in equal amounts. In cerebral edema, the relative volume of brain tissue increases as the brain tissues swells with edema. This increased relative brain volume decreases perfusion (blood) to the brain, and the pressure can cause further damage to both the edematous and non-edematous brain. Clinical presentation of cerebral edema is variable, ranging from asymptomatic to severe autonomic dysregulation, coma, and death. Symptoms appear as the intracranial pressure (ICP) rises above 20 cm H2O in most patients. Treatment for cerebral edema targets the underlying cause and any life-threatening complications. Treatments include hyperventilation, osmotherapy, diuretics, corticosteroids, and surgical decompression.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Sara Nehring declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Prasanna Tadi declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Steven Tenny declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Lawrence SE, Cummings EA, Gaboury I, Daneman D. Population-based study of incidence and risk factors for cerebral edema in pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis. J Pediatr. 2005 May;146(5):688-92. - PubMed
    1. Yang Y, Rosenberg GA. Blood-brain barrier breakdown in acute and chronic cerebrovascular disease. Stroke. 2011 Nov;42(11):3323-8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jha SK. Cerebral Edema and its Management. Med J Armed Forces India. 2003 Oct;59(4):326-31. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Senger DR, Van de Water L, Brown LF, Nagy JA, Yeo KT, Yeo TK, Berse B, Jackman RW, Dvorak AM, Dvorak HF. Vascular permeability factor (VPF, VEGF) in tumor biology. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 1993 Sep;12(3-4):303-24. - PubMed
    1. Sorby-Adams AJ, Marcoionni AM, Dempsey ER, Woenig JA, Turner RJ. The Role of Neurogenic Inflammation in Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption and Development of Cerebral Oedema Following Acute Central Nervous System (CNS) Injury. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Aug 17;18(8) - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources