American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Practice Exam 2026 - Free ABPN Practice Questions and Study Guide

Auscultation revealing a bruit in the head is most indicative of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). This condition involves an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, bypassing the capillary system, which leads to turbulent blood flow. This turbulence produces the characteristic sound heard when auscultating over the head, often described as a continuous "whooshing" or "buzzing" sound.

In contrast, other conditions also present in the head but typically do not feature a bruit. For instance, a brain tumor might cause increased intracranial pressure or other neurological symptoms, but it does not usually generate a bruit in the absence of vascular involvement. Venous sinus thrombosis primarily involves venous obstruction and may lead to symptoms such as headache, visual disturbances, and possibly signs of increased intracranial pressure, but a bruit is not typically associated with this condition. Temporal arteritis, though it can cause headaches and jaw pain, usually affects larger arteries and is characterized by inflammation of the arterial walls, not typically producing a bruit.

Thus, the presence of a bruit in the head strongly suggests an underlying vascular anomaly like an arteriovenous malformation rather than the other listed conditions.