Blood vesselArtery

Renal artery

Latin: Arteria renalis sinistra

Location: Abdomen

Paired structure: one on the left and one on the right side of the body.

View the renal artery in 3D

Course

Branches from the aorta's side at L1–L2 below the SMA, crosses the left crus of the diaphragm and psoas behind the pancreas to the left renal hilum, where it divides into five segmental end-arteries.

Branches

Five segmental arteries — lobar, then interlobar, arcuate and afferent arterioles.

Clinical relevance

Renal artery stenosis (atheroma at the ostium or fibromuscular dysplasia in the young) causes renovascular hypertension; together the kidneys receive about 20–25% of cardiac output.

Educational anatomy reference, not medical advice. About this content.