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Metabolic Disorders and Critically Ill Patients pp 285–300Cite as

Cerebral Metabolism and Function

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Abstract

The brain has an extremely active metabolism. The weight of the adult brain is approximately 1400 g representing 2% of body weight and at the same time accounts for 20% of oxygen (3 to 5 ml ∙ 100 g−1 ∙ min−1) and 25% of glucose consumption in a subject at rest (31 μmol ∙ 100 g−1 ∙ min−1). This brain metabolism requires a high cerebral blood flow (CBF) of approximately 750 mL ∙ min−1 or 50 mL ∙ 100 g−1 ∙ min−1 equivalent to 15% of cardiac output at rest. The oxygen supply is in excess of oxygen consumption explaining a low cerebral extraction of oxygen (25–30%), but the brain has very little energy stores. This requires a very accurate and fast adaptation of CBF to cerebral metabolism. Another important anatomic characteristic of the brain is its containment in a rigid structure meaning that a change in volume gives rise to an exponential change in intracranial pressure (ICP) after volume compensation mechanisms are exceeded. Hence, the status of the cerebral circulation and its consequences on brain metabolism are very specific to this organ.

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  1. Département d’Anesthésie-Réanimation, CHU Timone, 264 rue St-Pierre, 13385, Marseille, Cedex, France

    Lionel Velly & Nicolas Bruder

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  1. Lionel Velly
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  2. Nicolas Bruder
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Correspondence to Nicolas Bruder .

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  1. Intensive Care Unit, Hôpital Pasteur 2, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Carole Ichai

  2. Intensive Care Unit, Hôpital Pasteur 2, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Hervé Quintard

  3. Intensive Care Unit, Hôpital Pasteur 2, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France

    Jean-Christophe Orban

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Velly, L., Bruder, N. (2018). Cerebral Metabolism and Function. In: Ichai, C., Quintard, H., Orban, JC. (eds) Metabolic Disorders and Critically Ill Patients. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64010-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64010-5_12

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