The circumventricular organs of the brain: their role as possible sites for future neurosurgery.

In this paper an attempt is made to give an account of the possible significance of the circumventricular organs to the neurosurgeon. Two major members of the group, the neurohypophysis and the pineal organ, are not considered, largely because of the vast literature which has already accrued on these two structures. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid and the problem of hydrocephalus, the choroid plexus, and the possible roles of Reissner's fibre and the subcommissural organ.