Segmental arteries of the kidney
Arteriae segmenti renis
Also known as: segmental renal arteries
Usually five end-arteries — apical (superior), anterosuperior, anteroinferior, inferior and posterior — formed by division of the renal artery at the hilum, each supplying an independent vascular segment of the kidney.
Overview
Near the hilum the renal artery divides into an anterior division, which gives the superior (apical), anterosuperior, anteroinferior and inferior segmental arteries, and a posterior division, which becomes the posterior segmental artery passing behind the renal pelvis. Each supplies a renal vascular segment: there are therefore usually five segments (apical, anterosuperior, anteroinferior, inferior and posterior).
Segmental arteries are end arteries — they do not anastomose significantly — so occlusion of one produces a wedge-shaped infarct of its segment, and each segment can be resected surgically (partial nephrectomy). The relatively avascular plane between the anterior and posterior territories (Brödel line), just posterior to the lateral convex border, is used for surgical incision of the kidney. In contrast, the intrarenal veins anastomose freely and are not segmental.
- Location
Renal sinus and hilum.
Anatomy
- Course
Renal artery → anterior and posterior divisions at the hilum → segmental arteries within the renal sinus → interlobar arteries.
- Branches
Each segmental artery gives off interlobar arteries that enter the renal columns.
Function
- Distribute renal arterial blood to the five vascular segments of the kidney
Clinical significance
Renal infarction
Embolic occlusion (e.g. from atrial fibrillation or endocarditis) of a segmental artery causes sudden flank pain, haematuria, raised LDH and a wedge-shaped non-enhancing area on CT.
Partial nephrectomy
Knowledge of segmental anatomy allows removal of small tumours with preservation of the rest of the kidney.
Compiled from standard anatomy and physiology references — see the Urinary System sources. For education only; not medical advice.