RadEssentialReading-room reference
Spetzler–Martin AVM grade
Predicts surgical risk for brain AVMs. Sum of three features gives grade I–V; grade VI denotes inoperable lesions.
| Feature | Category | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Nidus size | Small (<3 cm) | 1 |
| Medium (3–6 cm) | 2 | |
| Large (>6 cm) | 3 | |
| Eloquence | Non-eloquent | 0 |
| Eloquent: sensorimotor, language, visual cortex; hypothalamus, thalamus, internal capsule, brainstem, cerebellar peduncles, deep cerebellar nuclei | 1 | |
| Venous drainage | Superficial only | 0 |
| Any deep | 1 |
Grade it
GradeI
Deep drainage = any drainage into the deep venous system (internal cerebral veins, basal veins of Rosenthal, precentral cerebellar vein). In the posterior fossa, only drainage to the straight sinus or transverse sinus via superficial cerebellar veins counts as superficial.
Sources
- Spetzler RF, Martin NA. A proposed grading system for arteriovenous malformations. J Neurosurg. 1986;65:476–483.PubMed ↗
Radessential summarizes published classification systems for practicing radiologists. Summaries are condensed; confirm details against the cited source before relying on them for patient care.