Vascular dementia(VD) refers to cognitive impairment caused by cerebrovascular lesions，and its incidence is increasing year by year.In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)，it is referred to as “dementia”“ amnesia”or“imbecility”.Modern medical practitioners have delved deeper into the collateral disease theory and widely applied it in clinical practice.Studies related to the theory of collateral vessels and collateral diseases have found that collateral vessel lesions have a significant impact on the onset of VD.The basic pathogenesis of VD involves stagnation of qi，turbid phlegm，and blood stasis，leading to obstruction of the blood vessels.The pathological products accumulate and become toxic，which damages the blood vessels by blocking the flow of blood.Damage to the vital qi，pectoral qi，defensive qi，and nutrient qi in the collaterals leads to impairment of the neuroendocrine-immune(NEI) network，resulting in cognitive dysfunction.Both blood vessels and qi collaterals play a role in the development of VD.