A Rare Variation of Left Testicular Arteries in Position, Number and Course and its Clinical Significance

Abstract

Variations of gonadal vessels are frequently reported. A comprehensive awareness of the morphologic variations of testicular vessels can avoid accidental injuries to the vessels during surgery. In the present case, there were three left testicular arteries existing in ipsilateral side. Especially, two left testicular arteries originated from the abdominal aorta, arched over and then descended in front of the left renal vein. Besides, another left testicular artery had a low origin but was a little superior to the inferior mesenteric artery. Such a variation is significant and may be attributed to the pathogeny of varicocele and orthostatic proteinuria. The variation could show surgeons an ingenious idea and may educate surgeons to consider more potential hazards during abdominal surgery.

Keywords

• anatomical variation
• classification-diagnosis-surgery
• embryology