Intrathecal/intrathecally
An injection or infusion of medicines into the fluid-filled canal in the spinal cord or the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord. This allows the medicine to directly reach the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the spinal cord and brain. It is sometimes used to deliver anaesthetics or pain relief medicines or certain types of chemotherapy. This drug delivery method allows certain drugs to reach the brain without being stopped or blocked by the ‘[blood-brain barrier]’ – the blood-brain barrier is a barrier that lines the blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord that selectively allows only certain cells and chemicals through to protect the brain.
