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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Clin Sci (Lond). 2017 Aug 10;131(17):2257–2274. doi: 10.1042/CS20160381

Figure 1. Overview of the Glymphatic System.

Figure 1

Convective flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) enters the PVS of pial arteries and dives down into the brain through penetrating artery PVS. These PVS are surrounded on the outside by a sheath of astroglial endfeet lined with aquaporin-4 (AQP4) water channels. AQP4 facilitates the bulk flow movement of CSF into the parenchyma where it mixes with interstitial fluid (ISF). Convective ISF flow propels waste products, such as amyloid-β and tau, towards veins where they enter PVS for efflux out of the CNS. This process is regulated by changes in the extracellular space volume of the parenchyma as is seen during sleep-wake state transitions. Adapted with permission from the AAAS(126).