Anastomosis The joining or linking of vessels that are artery to artery or vein to vein. The overall goal of these connections is to provide additional routes for blood flow if one conduit gets clogged. An anastomosis of the arteries is called a bypass, while an anastomosis of the veins is called a shunting operation. Many types of anastomoses exist: end-to-end, end-to-side, side-to-side, patch, carotid-carotid, and carotid-subclavian. End-to-end anastomoses are the most common type of arterial anastomosis and consist of matching sections of artery that are joined together. This article focuses on bypass surgery; related articles can be found under Anatomy/General Surgery in the index.