Multiphasic Transport in the Human Cranial Dura: How Meningeal Lymphatic Vessels Drive Waste Clearance from Cerebrospinal Fluid

Multiphasic Transport in the Human Cranial Dura: How Meningeal Lymphatic Vessels Drive Waste Clearance from Cerebrospinal Fluid We provide the data and outputs generated for the paper Multiphasic Transport in the Human Cranial Dura: How Meningeal Lymphatic Vessels Drive Waste Clearance from Cerebrospinal Fluid. This paper uses a novel segmentation of the cranial dura, based on the Gonzo dataset, to estimate transport parameters in meningeal lymphatic vessels and dural lymphatics. Abstract: Background The discovery of meningeal lymphatic vessels (mLVs) has reshaped our understanding of brain waste clearance, positioning them as a very important clearance route. However, quantifying the precise hydrodynamics and solute transport mechanisms within the human dura mater in vivo remains highly challenging due to the multiscale nature of cranial fluid dynamics and imaging resolution limits. Methods We integrated patient-specific gMRI data with a novel anatomical segmentation of the cranial dura mater. By employing a hierarchy of inverse mathematical and micro-mechanical models, we estimated previously inaccessible physiological transport parameters. These baseline estimates subsequently informed a spatially distributed, double-porosity 3D computational model of the human dura to simulate the fluid dynamics of cranial clearance. Results Our analysis suggests that purely diffusive macroscopic models fail to replicate in vivo tracer distribution. Conversely, a dual-porosity advection-diffusion framework successfully captures the tissue kinetics. The transport within the mLV compartment is characterized by highly convective clearance (with Pe>1), with macroscopic fluid velocities and effective lymphatic diffusion coefficients confirming an advective capacity sufficient to clear more than the brain's total daily protein production. Conclusion Solute clearance within the human cranial dura mater is a multiphasic, advection-dominated process. Rather than relying on passive Fickian diffusion, molecules are actively and rapidly cleared through the meningeal lymphatic network via convective mechanisms. This hierarchical modeling approach bridges clinical imaging and microscopic fluid dynamics, clarifying the primary mechanical drivers of brain homeostasis.