Prominent CSF spaces: Meaning in a Radiology Report

Also written as: prominent cerebrospinal fluid spaces, prominent sulci, prominent extra-axial spaces, prominent ventricles and sulci

Prominent CSF spaces means the brain's fluid spaces look a little larger than average, most often from mild age-related volume loss.

What it means

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the clear liquid that cushions the brain. It fills the grooves on the brain's surface, the thin space under the skull and the chambers in the middle (ventricles). When the brain shrinks a little, the fluid fills the extra room, so these spaces look wider. Prominent is a mild word: a bit larger than average, not necessarily abnormal.

When it matters

Mildly prominent spaces are common in adults and often simply reflect age. In babies, wide fluid spaces at the front of the head are often a normal variant that settles with time. Doctors look more closely when the change is more than expected for age or limited to one area. Ventricles that look large compared with the grooves can point to hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid. Older scans show whether anything is changing.

Questions to ask your doctor

Is this amount of fluid space normal for my age?
Is there any sign of hydrocephalus rather than volume loss?
Have these spaces changed compared with my older scans?

General information, not medical advice. What a finding means for you depends on your symptoms, your history and the images themselves, so talk your results through with a doctor.