Researchers report evidence of a lymphatic-like drainage network associated with the middle meningeal artery that may help clear waste from the brain. Using MRI in five healthy adults over five hours, the team observed slow fluid drainage from the brain’s underside and confirmed the area contains cells typical of lymphatic vessels with high-resolution imaging. Although the cohort was very small and results are preliminary, the discovery could provide baseline anatomical knowledge useful for diagnosing and treating disorders linked to waste-clearance dysfunction.
Hidden 'Brain Drain' Discovered: Lymphatic Network Near Middle Meningeal Artery May Clear Waste
Researchers report evidence of a lymphatic-like drainage network associated with the middle meningeal artery that may help clear waste from the brain. Using MRI in five healthy adults over five hours, the team observed slow fluid drainage from the brain’s underside and confirmed the area contains cells typical of lymphatic vessels with high-resolution imaging. Although the cohort was very small and results are preliminary, the discovery could provide baseline anatomical knowledge useful for diagnosing and treating disorders linked to waste-clearance dysfunction.
08:43, 08.11.2025Science
Hidden 'Brain Drain' Discovered
Researchers have identified a previously uncharacterized lymphatic-like network near the middle meningeal artery that may play a central role in clearing waste from the human brain. The findings, published in Science, come from MRI and high-resolution imaging studies led by Onder Albayram of the Medical University of South Carolina.
What the study did
The team used magnetic resonance imaging to track cerebrospinal fluid movement in five healthy adults over a five-hour period. They observed slow, real-time drainage of fluid from the underside of the brain, which the researchers interpret as lymphatic channels passively conveying waste away from neural tissue.
Supporting anatomical evidence
To corroborate the MRI observations, the researchers performed high-resolution anatomical imaging of the region surrounding the middle meningeal artery. That mapping revealed a concentration of multiple cell types commonly found in lymphatic vessels elsewhere in the body — supporting the idea that a lymphatic-like drainage system exists in this region.
“A major challenge in brain research is that we still don’t fully understand how a healthy brain functions and ages,”
Albayram said in a statement. “Once we understand what ‘normal’ looks like, we can recognize early signs of disease and design better treatments.”
Limitations and implications
These results are intriguing but preliminary. The study involved an exceedingly small cohort (five people), so the observations require replication in larger, more diverse populations and additional investigation into the structure and function of the putative lymphatic pathways. If confirmed, these anatomical insights could help researchers better understand brain waste clearance and its role in aging and neurodegenerative disease, and could eventually inform diagnostic or therapeutic approaches.
Note: The study describes lymphatic-like structures associated with the middle meningeal artery; it does not identify the artery itself as lymphatic.