LATERAL VENTRICLE

The lateral ventricle is the lumen, or space within, the cerebral hemisphere. It is not an empty space, since it is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In fact the two lateral ventricles are the source of most of the cerebrospinal fluid in the bodies of mammals, which is produced in the Choroid Plexus found within the ventricles.

The brain is a hollow organ, and the hollow in the middle forms the ventricular system, which includes the third ventricle, the cerebral aqueduct, the fourth ventricle and the central canal of the spinal cord, along with the two lateral ventricles. The lateral ventricles are often the largest components of the ventricular system.

The lateral ventricles communicate with the third ventricle through the Interventricular Foramens. The cerebrospinal fluid produced in the lateral ventricles flows through these foramens into the third ventricle and from there to the rest of the ventricular system and to the subarachnoid space which surrounds the whole central nervous system.