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Concept
Cerebral arteriovenous malformation
Summary
A cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cerebral AVM, CAVM, cAVM, brain AVM, or BAVM) is an abnormal connection between the arteries and veins in the brain—specifically, an arteriovenous malformation in the cerebrum.
The most frequently observed problems related to a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are headaches and seizures, cranial nerve afflictions including pinched nerve and palsy, backaches, neckaches, and nausea from coagulated blood that has made its way down to be dissolved in the cerebrospinal fluid. Perhaps 15% of the population at detection are asymptomatic. Other common symptoms are a pulsing noise in the head, progressive weakness, numbness and vision changes as well as debilitating, excruciating pain.
In serious cases, blood vessels rupture and cause bleeding within the brain (intracranial hemorrhage). In more than half of patients with AVM, this is the first symptom. Symptoms due to bleeding include loss of consciousness, sudden and severe headache, nausea, vomiting, incontinence, and blurred vision, amongst others. Impairments caused by local brain-tissue damage on the bleed site are also possible, including seizure, one-sided weakness (hemiparesis), a loss of touch sensation on one side of the body and deficits in language processing (aphasia). Ruptured AVMs are responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity.
AVMs in certain critical locations may stop the circulation of the cerebrospinal fluid, causing it to accumulate within the skull and giving rise to a clinical condition called hydrocephalus. A stiff neck can occur as the result of increased pressure within the skull and irritation of the meninges.
A cerebral AVM is an abnormal anastomosis (connection) between the arteries and veins in the human brain and are most commonly of prenatal origin. In a normal brain, oxygen-enriched blood from the heart travels in sequence through smaller blood vessels going from arteries, to arterioles and then capillaries. Oxygen is removed in the capillaries to be used by the brain.
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Ontological neighbourhood
Related publications (37)
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Related concepts (16)
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is a condition in which an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) occurs within the brain. This typically causes increased pressure inside the skull. Older people may have headaches, double vision, poor balance, urinary incontinence, personality changes, or mental impairment. In babies, it may be seen as a rapid increase in head size. Other symptoms may include vomiting, sleepiness, seizures, and downward pointing of the eyes. Hydrocephalus can occur due to birth defects or be acquired later in life.
Stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functioning properly. Signs and symptoms of a stroke may include an inability to move or feel on one side of the body, problems understanding or speaking, dizziness, or loss of vision to one side. Signs and symptoms often appear soon after the stroke has occurred.
Headache
Headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches. Headaches can occur as a result of many conditions. There are a number of different classification systems for headaches. The most well-recognized is that of the International Headache Society, which classifies it into more than 150 types of primary and secondary headaches.