Renal Arteries: A Morphological and Angiographic Assessment

Abstract

In comparison with other organs, variants of blood supply to the kidneys were always at special attention. In many respects, the relevance of the topic can be explained by the presence of a large number of surgical and non-surgical procedures performed on this organ, the number of which continues to grow. We therefore analyzed renal artery variations by the method of macroscopic anatomical dissection on 56 kidneys and retrospectively analyzed the data of 93 aortography performed using the Seldinger technique. In our study, one renal artery was encountered in 45 cases (80.34%) based on dissection method and in 156 cases (83.87%) based on angiography. Two renal arteries were found in 11 cases (19.64%) according to the dissection method and in 30 cases (16.13%) according to the data of the aortography. Bifurcation of the renal artery occurred in 5 cases (8.93%) and trifurcation – 2 cases (3.57%). Based on the angiography data bifurcation was detected in 16 cases (8.60%) and in trifurcation in 3 case (1.61%). Extrarenal division occurred in 10 cases (17.86%). Based on dissection method the superior polar arteries were recorded in 12 cases (21.43%). On angiographies, the superior polar arteries were encountered in 10 cases (5.38%) and inferior polar arteries – in 2 cases (1.08%). The data provided in the article can be used by specialists in urology, nephrology, vascular surgery, as well as in other therapeutic and surgical specialties.

Keywords

• Renal arteries
• Accessory renal artery
• Extrarenal division
• Polar artery
• Angiography