The Collaterals of the Coronary Arteries in Normal and Pathologic Hearts

Abstract

The collateral vessels of normal and pathologic hearts were studied by making plastic casts of the coronary vessels. The normal heart possesses conspicuous coronary anastomoses. The localization, the development and to a certain extent, the incidence was studied. The maximum increase in collateral vessels was observed in cases of coronary narrowing; a less pronounced increase was found in conditions of chronic hypoxemia.