The Buoyant Brain

CSF is believed to provide a buoyancy medium to protect the brain against trauma and to reduce its weight. However, the origin of this belief, how this buoyancy works and its implications in various CSF disorders have not got enough attention in the literature. This study aimed to review the literature for the previous works that investigated the buoyancy environment of the brain. By applying the laws of buoyancy to the intracranial system, possible explanations of the common CSF disorders were suggested and compared to the current knowledge.