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Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are vascular abnormalities consisting of a number of direct connections of arteries and veins without a normal intervening capillary bed. AVMs are generally thought to be congenital, but they frequently grow during childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. It is rare for them to grow significantly in the more mature adult. The most common presentation of intracranial AVMs is intracerebral hemorrhage closely followed by seizures. Other patients with AVMs present with headache and other signs of increased intracranial pressure and infrequently, with a progressive focal neurologic deficit which we generally attribute to a vascular steal, but which may well be due to venous hypertension in the territory of the veins draining the AVM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]