The clinical anatomy of the coronary collateral circulation.

Although the structure and function of the coronary vasculature has been exhaustively studied, it still holds significant elements of mystery for the researcher and clinician. This is particularly true regarding the structure and function of the human collateral coronary circulation. Controversy still exists concerning the pathways of collateral vessels as well as their function. Controversies also exist relative to the methods used to delineate the pathways, these being additionally compounded by the lack of standardization of the studies and measurements. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge of this functionally significant vascular network. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.