We present a case of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) where standard MR angiography demonstrated an enlarged basal vein of Rosenthal. The lenticulostriate branches of the middle cerebral artery were suggested but not conclusively shown, as the feeders of the AVM. Therefore, it could not be determined whether the enlarged vein was part of an AVM or of a venous angioma. By using a saturation pulse inferior to the image volume including the basal vein of Rosenthal and the middle cerebral artery, the transmission of "black blood" to the basal vein of Rosenthal was demonstrated. This implied early venous draining, which confirmed that the lesion represented an AVM.