Normal kidney size in adults
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At the time the article was created Aneta Kecler-Pietrzyk had no recorded disclosures.
View Aneta Kecler-Pietrzyk's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Ciléin Kearns had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Ciléin Kearns's current disclosures- Adult renal size
Normal kidney size in adults is closely related to height, but weight, body mass index (BMI), age, and ethnicity can also influence this 4.
Kidney dimensions are typically measured sonographically and used to calculate estimated volume. MRI and CT measurements have been shown to generally correlate well with ultrasonography 5,6.
The mean average pole-to-pole length of an adult human kidney is 10-13 cm. In general, the left kidney is slightly longer than the right.
When one kidney has reduced function or is absent, the other may undergo compensatory enlargement 7.
References
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- 2. Glodny B, Unterholzner V, Taferner B, Hofmann KJ, Rehder P, Strasak A, Petersen J. Normal kidney size and its influencing factors - a 64-slice MDCT study of 1.040 asymptomatic patients. (2009) BMC urology. 9: 19. doi:10.1186/1471-2490-9-19 - Pubmed
- 3. Kang KY, Lee YJ, Park SC, Yang CW, Kim YS, Moon IS, Koh YB, Bang BK, Choi BS. A comparative study of methods of estimating kidney length in kidney transplantation donors. (2007) Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation : official publication of the European Dialysis and Transplant Association - European Renal Association. 22 (8): 2322-7. doi:10.1093/ndt/gfm192 - Pubmed
- 4. Arooj AA, Lam J, Wui Y J, Supriyanto E. Comparison of renal size among different Ethnicities. (2011). International journal of biology and biomedical engineering. 4(5):221-229.
- 5. Braconnier P, Piskunowicz M, Vakilzadeh N et al. How Reliable is Renal Ultrasound to Measure Renal Length and Volume in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Compared with Magnetic Resonance Imaging? Acta Radiol. 2019;61(1):117-27. doi:10.1177/0284185119847680 - Pubmed
- 6. Cheong B, Muthupillai R, Rubin M, Flamm S. Normal Values for Renal Length and Volume as Measured by Magnetic Resonance Imaging. CJASN. 2006;2(1):38-45. doi:10.2215/cjn.00930306 - Pubmed
- 7. van Vuuren S, van der Doef R, Cohen-Overbeek T, Goldschmeding R, Pistorius L, de Jong T. Compensatory Enlargement of a Solitary Functioning Kidney During Fetal Development. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2012;40(6):665-8. doi:10.1002/uog.11168 - Pubmed
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