The cerebro-spinal-fluid pressure monitoring device disclosed herein employs a flexible, ribbon-like distal portion providing generally parallel front and back surfaces. The front surface has a recess near the distal tip of the catheter so that when the tip of the catheter is inserted between the dura mater and arachnoid membrane, with the back face of the catheter supported by the patient's skull, the arachnoid membrane bridges the recess. A longitudinal lumen communicates between the recess and a pressure monitoring device for providing a pressure transmitting fluid coupled therebetween. The ribbon-like distal portion is of essentially constant cross-sectional shape and is of sufficient length to permit the catheter to exit the scalp through an incision spaced from the point at which the catheter passes through the skull. This design enables the catheter to be removed by being drawn longitudinally from the point of exit from the scalp.