Renal Morphometry & Vascular Variations

A total of 65 pairs (n=130) of adult human kidneys were collected from the post-mortem bodies to study morphometric parameters of the kidneys and angioarchitecture by using dissection and corrosion casting method. We observed morphometric parameters like length, width and thickness of the kidneys were more in males than females and also length, width and thickness of the left kidneys were more than the right kidneys. Cortical network of renal vasculature and segmental branches were observed by using vascular corrosion method. We observed bilateral single renal arteries in 95 specimens out of 100 showing the incidence of 95% which is mere agreement with the literature. The incidence of renal superior aberrant artery in the present study was 6%, the incidence of renal inferior aberrant artery was 9%, renal posterior aberrant artery was 4% and renal middle aberrant artery was 1%.The incidence of 20% aberrant renal vasculature was observed in our study. High incidence of aberrant arteries is characteristic of early ramification of the renal artery. Before planning a segmental resection or partial nephrectomy, a renal angiogram is the most essential investigation for the surgeon.