Variations in the Branching Pattern of Renal Artery and its Clinical Implications

Renal artery arises from the aorta and divides into an anterior and posterior division. The anterior division further divides into 4 segmental arteries: apical, superior anterior, middle anterior and lower. The posterior division continues as posterior segmental artery. These segmental arteries serve as end arteries and supply a specified segment of the kidney. In the present study, variations in the branching pattern of the renal artery and vascular segmentation of the kidney was studied by dissection, corrosion cast and radiographic methods in 72 kidneys obtained from post-mortem cases of Forensic department. Five vascular segments were observed in all the kidneys studied. The anterior division of the renal artery showed considerable variations in giving segmental branches on the basis of which it was classified into 6 types; most common being anterior division dividing into an upper and a lower branch. The upper branch further divided into an apical and an upper segmental artery and the lower branch divided into middle and a lower segmental artery (29.19%). Knowledge of branching pattern of the renal artery is very important for the proper interpretation of radiographic interpretation of renal vasculature and planning surgical procedures in cases of renal trauma, renal transplantation, and partial nephrectomy.