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I am familiar with the human Ventricular system that circulates Cerebrospinal fluid. This is needed among other reasons, to suspend the heavy human brain, and for injury protection. Do all mammals have a need a Ventricular system?

Maybe some did not have as strong of an evolutionary need for cerebrospinal fluid?

Gabriel Fair
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    Are you asking Do all animals... as in your title or do all mammals... as in your post. Note that after asking do all mammals... in your post you are asking For example don't woodpeckers..., while woodpeckers are obviously not mammals. Note that many animals don't have a circulatory system nor a brain (such as jellyfish for example) and so the answer to the question in the title is no. – Remi.b Sep 14 '15 at 00:23
  • Just mammals then. I forgot about jellyfish. Which are such a great exception to so many attempts at generalizing the kingdom of animals. – Gabriel Fair Sep 14 '15 at 21:36
  • Of course not. For the human primates, nearly most of them have the ventrcular system, but for the non-human primates, seldom of them get. – CreativeAnimodel Sep 14 '15 at 06:06
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    A reiteration of the initial question based on the exclusion of jellyfish as invertebrates: How might the evolutionary development of the ventricular system coincide with a functional separation of the central and peripheral nervous systems? – David Shaked Sep 15 '15 at 05:07

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The ventricular system is common to vertebrates. It's also necessary for brain nutrition, assists in preventing under/over perfusion by exerting/releasing pressure, and forms part of the brain's glymphatic clearance pathway.

See also:

Totally Tubular: The Mystery behind Function and Origin of the Brain Ventricular System

jzx
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