Influencing factors and evaluation of cerebral collateral circulation

The cerebral collateral circulation plays an important role in preserving cerebral perfusion of patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease.Understanding the cerebral collateral circulation contributes to choose appropriate treatment,to predict prognostication and to assess stroke risk stratification.Considerable variability exists in the anatomy of collateral circulation,furthermore,many aspects of cerebral collateral circulation are still not clear,so further researches are needed.In the present review,we discuss basic aspects of the cerebral collateral circulation,including anatomy of collateral circulation,formation mechanism,influencing factors,clinical application and so on.