Acute “meningitis” is an acute inflammation of the “meninges,” the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Most often, this inflammation is secondary to infection with a virus or bacteria. In the latter case, there is a major risk and it is an emergency.
Our brains are as fragile as an egg. Our skull is a box. Put an egg in a box, shake: then you will obtain a mixture not even worthy of making an omelet. If nature had not done things well, this is what would happen to our brain. At the slightest brake, it would crash against the bones of our forehead. However, none of this is happening. We owe this daily miracle precisely to the meninges and the cerebrospinal fluid.
Pie mother
The egg – our brain – is first surrounded very tightly by a thin envelope similar to “Scellofrais”, this plastic film used to protect food in a refrigerator. It is one of our three meninges: the magpie -mother. The whole brain + pia mater is then immersed in a liquid that looks like water, the cerebrospinal fluid.
Arachnoid
This liquid is protected by a second envelope that could be likened to aluminum foil, it is the arachnoid, our second meninge.
Tough mother
Finally to stiffen the whole, we add against the bone a layer of hard plastic, the third meninge, the dura. So in summary, our skull is the equivalent of a plasticized carbon container covered with aluminum foil, filled with water, in which we immerse an egg covered with “scellofrais”. Do the experiment, you will see: you can move the container in all directions, the egg will not break. But, on the other hand, we understand that if the envelopes break or if the liquid becomes dirty, then the egg will be in danger. This is exactly what happens when our meninges are attacked by a virus or bacteria. The cerebrospinal fluid becomes purulent and our entire nervous system is then in danger.
Lumbar puncture
To make the diagnosis, to treat effectively, a single gesture, the lumbar puncture. With a long needle, we will take a little liquid between two meninges. It is done in the lower back quite simply because the meninges cover not only the brain but also its extension, the spinal cord. From where this sample between the fourth and the fifth lumbar vertebra, where one can take without risk of injuring a vital zone.
Nature is really well done since it has even planned the place to put the tap!
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