The Anatomy of Renal Arteries in Adults

Detailed extraparenhymal renal hilar dissection was performed on 110 fixed cadaveric kidneys (60 from male cadavers and 50 from female cadavers). We analyzed the number of renal arteries, angles between renal arteries and abdominal aorta, length and diameter of the renal arteries. Multiple renal arteries were present in 20.9% of cases, with a slightly higher incidence on the right side (21.8%: 20.0%). The angle between the aorta and the RRA varied from 30° to 100° with a mean of 64.1°, while the angle between the abdominal aorta and the LRA was 40° to 115°, with a mean of 67.3°. The external caliber of the RRA at the point of origin from the abdominal aorta was 5 mm to 9.1 mm, with a mean of 6.8 mm. The same caliber of the LRA was 3.7 to 9.6 mm with a mean of 7.0 mm. The average length of the renal artery from the point of origin from the abdominal aorta to the branching point was 36.2 mm for the right renal artery and 30.7 mm for the left renal artery. The average length of the renal artery from the point of origin from the abdominal aorta to the renal hilum was 65.1 mm for the right one and 54.7 mm for the left one. Knowledge of the number of renal arteries, their mode of entry into the kidney, the angles they build with the abdominal aorta, their diameter and length has practical applications in interventional radiology and surgery of the kidney and its environment.