Main and accessory renal arteries--a morphological study.

The present work was undertaken to document the incidence of accessory renal arteries in kidney specimens obtained from subjects of Indian origin. Comprehensive dissection carried out in the dissection hall of Anatomy Department of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (India) on forty cadavers over a period of five years revealed a single main renal artery on either side in 80% of the specimens. The mean length of the main renal artery was 31.05 +/- 12 and 25.0 +/- 9.5 mm on the right and the left side respectively. Multiple (accessory) renal arteries were observed in 20% of the specimens with unilateral anomaly (15%) being more commonly encountered than bilateral anomaly (5%). The mean length of the accessory renal artery was 36.4 +/- 10 and 36.6 +/- 11 mm on the right and the left side respectively. The accessory artery when present, invariably crossed the anterior aspect of the ureter. Familiarity about the possible variations in the renal arterial pattern are especially important for the personnel dealing with kidney retrieval and transplantation, various endourologic procedures and innumerable interventional techniques. In the majority of such situations, it is the comprehensive knowledge of the renal arterial pattern which remains the key issue in determining the technical feasibility of surgical interventions as well as the post operative management.