Ventricular shunt. Coloured X-ray of a section through the head of a 52-year-old patient with cerebral oedema (accumulation of fluid within the brain) following a road traffic accident, showing the position of a ventricular shunt (dark lines). A ventricular shunt is a neurosurgical implant that allows the drainage of excess fluid from the affected ventricles (cavities) of the brain. This patient also has small titanium plates being used to fix a fracture of the eye socket (orbit, far left).