Dr Gary Lau
In the following set of photos and videos, details of how a lumbar puncture is performed will be demonstrated. (Please note that medical students will not be expected to be perform lumbar punctures as part of their medical curriculum. These skills will be taught during Internship).
Lumbar punctures (LPs) are relatively safe procedures. However, some of the complications include: Post-lumbar puncture headache This is one of the most common complications after LP and occurs in 10-30% of patients receiving a LP. This is due to leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the dura and traction on pain-sensitive structures. Patients with post-LP headache…
Normal Cerebrospinal Fluid The photos shown here is that of normal cerebrospinal fluid after a lumbar puncture. Normal cerebrospinal fluid is colourless and odorless. Xanthochromia The cerebrospinal fluid here shows xanthochromia (Figure 1), meaning of yellow discolorization. Presence of xanthrochromia means that there is presence of red cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. With time, the red…