Spinal puncture

Patent Pending A lumbar puncture (or LP, and colloquially known as a spinal tap) is a diagnostic and at times therapeutic medical procedure. Diagnostically it is used to collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to confirm or exclude conditions such as meningitis and subarachnoid hemorrhage and it may be used in diagnosis of other conditions. Therapeutically it may be used to reduce increased intracranial pressure.