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Blood Brain Blood CSF Barriers Difference

22K views 0 replies 1 participant last post by  Sabio 
#1 · (Edited)
Ever wondered what's the difference between the blood brain barrier and the blood CSF barrier!

As blood vessels course through the brain and end up in the capillary network embedded within the brain substance there's a blood-brain barrier composed by the tight junctions of the endothelial lining of the capillary on one side and the vascular foot processes of astrocytes surrounding the capillary in the other side (see your First Aid for a nice illustration of that).

But we have another barrier, what's called the blood CSF barrier. This barrier is located at the choroid plexus where the blood in the highly vascular choroid plexus meets the CSF. This barrier is formed by tight junctions among the cells of the choroid.

It's important to understand that as the CSF goes out and circulates around the CNS it does not a barrier at the cellular level to isolate it from the underlying brain as we already have a gross barrier, which is the pia matter, the meningeal layer that covers the brain surfaces.

Have a look here for an illustration to understand what's said

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