UMEM Educational Pearls

Title: Elevated Intracranial Pressure and Herniation

Category: Neurology

Keywords: ICP, intracranial pressure, stroke, herniation (PubMed Search)

Posted: 12/23/2009 by Aisha Liferidge, MD (Updated: 4/6/2025)
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Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) can sometimes be associated with focal symptoms related to mass lesions or herniation syndromes.

Herniation is the result of pressure gradients between two regions of the cranial vault, such as that related to cerebral edema from an acute stroke.

The following list describes areas most commonly affected by herniation syndromes:

--- subfalcine

--- central transtentorial

--- uncal transtentorial

--- upward cerebellar

--- cerebellar tonsillar/foramen magnum

--- transcalvarial