A lower polar additional renal artery in an ectopic intraperitoneal kidney

Background: The kidneys are positioned retroperitoneally and they are normally supplied by the paired renal arteries. We describe a long left additional renal artery which supplies the lower pole of an intraperitoneal, labile, and smaller than usual left kidney, a variation that might complicate uroradiological procedures or surgery and cause failure of lithotripsy. Material and methods: The reported anatomical variations were discovered during routine educational dissection in a female cadaver. Results: The left kidney was found inside the parietal peritoneum (intraperitoneal), and it was lying free among the small bowel loops, without any underlying supportive tissues. Moreover, it was smaller than it should have been (length: 9.3 cm, diameter 3.1 cm) and possessed a lower polar additional left renal artery rising from the lateral side of the abdominal aorta, passing posterior to the ureter, and which was rather long (length: 8.8 cm). At the right side we did not find any variations of the renal region. Conclusions: Such a variation should be taken into consideration as it may lead to complications or explain some of them, if they occur. (Folia Morphol 2011; 70, 1: 56–58)

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