To determine the pathophysiological changes in brain tissue that characterize damage following cerebral venous hypertension, a model of cerebral venous hypertension in the rat was devised. This experimental model has the advantage of simultaneously measuring the regional changes in cerebral blood flow as well as the metabolism. The ischemic area demonstrated by the accumulation of NADH is confined to the cerebral cortex and becomes enlarged in proportion to the increase in venous pressure. This metabolic disturbance appears even in the very early period following cerebral venous hypertension. These pathophysiological features are different from those observed in the case of intracranial hypertension.