Adrenal veins

Last revised by Yahya Baba on 25 Oct 2021

The venous drainage of the adrenal (suprarenal) glands is typically comprised of a single vein draining each adrenal gland. Like the gonadal veins each side drains differently:

Anatomical Variants

Variant anatomy of the suprarenal vasculature is common and has been reported in 13% of patients 2.

On the right side, the variants include one central vein with multiple significant accessory veins or a suprarenal vein that drains directly into the hepatic vein 2. On the left side, variants include two significant adrenal veins or a branch to the left inferior phrenic vein 2.

Variation is more common on the right side than on the left (17% vs. 9%) 2.

Related pathology

  • adrenal vein thrombosis

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