Renal vein
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| Vein: Renal vein | |||
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| The anterior surfaces of the kidneys, showing the areas of contact of neighboring viscera. | |||
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| Latin | venae renales | ||
| Gray's | subject #173 679 | ||
| Drains from | kidney | ||
| Source | interlobar veins | ||
| Drains to | inferior vena cava | ||
| Artery | Renal artery | ||
| MeSH | Renal+Veins | ||
The renal veins are veins that drain the kidney. They connect the kidney to the inferior vena cava.
It is usually singular to each kidney, except in the condition "multiple renal veins".[1]
It also divides into 2 divisions upon entering the kidney:
- the anterior branch which receives blood from the anterior portion of the kidney and,
- the posterior branch which receives blood from the posterior portion.
Often, each renal vein will have a branch that receives blood from the ureter.
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[edit] Asymmetry
Because the inferior vena cava is on the right half of the body, the left renal vein is generally the longer of the two.
Because the inferior vena cava is not laterally symmetrical, the left renal vein often receives the following veins:[2]
- left inferior phrenic vein
- left suprarenal vein
- left gonadal vein (left testicular vein in males, left ovarian vein in females)
- left 2nd lumbar vein
This is in contrast to the right side of the body, where these veins drain directly into the IVC.
[edit] Pathology
Diseases associated with the renal vein include renal vein thrombosis (RVT) and nutcracker syndrome (renal vein entrapment syndrome).
[edit] References
[edit] Additional images
 Frontal section through the kidney |
 Diagram showing completion of development of the parietal veins. |
 The venæ cavæ and azygos veins, with their tributaries. |
 Human kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed. |
 Kidney |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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