Virchow-Robin Spaces

Virchow-Robin spaces (Virchow, Robin), adventitial, or perivascular spaces, surrounding the blood vessels of the brain and spinal cord. They were studied by His, Robin, and Kölliker in the 1860s. According to Kölliker's description, the adventitia of brain vessels transforms into a dense, thin, and apparently structureless membrane, separated from the muscular tunic by a free space. This space is connected with the lymphatic vessels of the brain membranes—soft and arachnoid—and with the epicerebral space between the soft membrane and the surface of the brain, which is proven by injections. Kölliker considers Virchow-Robin spaces to be preformed formations; according to Key and Retzius, as well as as more recent authors (Nissl, Held), the adventitial spaces, like the epicerebral space, are artificial products.