Collateral circulation

[1] It may occur via preexisting vascular redundancy (analogous to engineered redundancy), as in the circle of Willis in the brain, or it may occur via new branches formed between adjacent blood vessels (neovascularization), as in the eye after a retinal embolism or in the brain when an instance of arterial constriction occurs due to Moyamoya disease.

Its formation may be related by pathological conditions such as high vascular resistance or ischaemia.

It has surgically created analogues in which shunts or anastomoses are constructed to bypass circulatory problems.

After central retinal vein occlusion, neovascularization may restore some blood flow to the retina, but the new vessels' bulk also presents a risk of causing acute glaucoma by blocking the drainage of aqueous humour.

The circulatory system of the human hand features extensive collateral circulation in the form of the deep and superficial palmar arches, and the proper palmar digital arteries of the digits, with the exception of the thumb, which has its blood supplied by the princeps pollicis artery.