Anatomical Variation of the Origin and Course of the Right Renal Artery

Abstract

The anatomy of renal vascular variants plays an important role during planning of major procedures involving retroperitoneal spaces. The present observation revealed the coexistence of arterial and venous variants on the right kidney. A single right renal artery originates from the abdominal aorta at the level of fourth lumbar vertebrae and ascends superolaterally towards the hilum of the right kidney, arching above the inferior vena cava, leading to compression of the largest retroperitoneal vein. Accompanying this, a variant anastomosing vein connecting the right renal vein and the inferior vena cava was also observed. Understanding the existence of these variants is of important to clinicians, surgeons, urologists, radiologists, and cardiologists during their routine procedures such as nephrectomy, kidney transplant, and management of inferior vena cava syndrome and deep venous thrombosis.