Lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

A lumbar puncture (spinal tap) as the name indicate is performed in the lumbar region.

During a lumbar puncture, a needle is inserted between two lumbar bones (usually between vertebrae L3-L4 ; L4-L5) to remove a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. This is the fluid that surrounds your brain and spinal cord to protect them from injury.

A lumbar puncture can help diagnose serious infections, such as meningitis; other disorders of the central nervous system, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome and multiple sclerosis; or cancers of the brain or spinal cord.

A lumbar puncture may be done to:

.Collect cerebrospinal fluid for laboratory analysis

.Measure the pressure of your cerebrospinal fluid

.Inject spinal anesthetics, chemotherapy drugs or other medications

.Inject dye (myelography) or radioactive substances (cisternography) into cerebrospinal fluid to make diagnostic images of the fluid's flow.