Accessory renal artery

Last revised by Craig Hacking ◉ ◈ on 14 Apr 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Hacking C, El-Feky M, et al. Accessory renal artery. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 03 Jun 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-25835

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-25835

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/25835

rID:

25835

Article created:

11 Nov 2013, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

14 Apr 2023, Craig Hacking ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Craig Hacking had no recorded disclosures.

View Craig Hacking's current disclosures

Revisions:

21 times, by 12 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Vascular, Urogenital

Sections:

Anatomy

Tags:

kidney, variant

Synonyms:

Accessory renal arteries
Extra renal areteries
Aberrant renal artery
Aberrant renal arteries
Extra renal artery

Accessory renal arteries are a common variant of the renal arteries. They are present in ~25% (range 20-30%) of the population and bilateral in ~10% ¹. Accurate identification is of utmost importance for surgical planning prior to live donor transplantation ^2,3 and renal artery embolization for various reasons ^4,5.

The term extra renal artery may be used ⁶, with a subclassification into:

aberrant renal artery: supplying the superior and/or inferior pole of the kidney
accessory renal artery: supplying the renal hilum

Accessory renal arteries occur bilaterally in 10-15% of cases:

single renal artery arising from the abdominal aorta: 70%
double renal arteries: ~20% (range 14-23%)
triple renal arteries: ~2.5% (range 1-4%)
quadruple renal arteries: <1%

Most commonly accessory renal arteries arise from the abdominal aorta and supply the inferior pole of the kidney, although rarely they can arise from: