MORPHOMETRY OF RENAL VEINS IN A CADAVER STUDY

ABSTRACT
Background: Comprehensive surgical workup done preoperatively, has an important role in avoiding unnecessary hazardous
outcomes of a surgery related to renal transplantation, radical renal procedures and other urological surgeries.
This study was aimed to study the morphometry of normal as well as abnormal anatomic patterns of human renal veins.
Design, setting, and participants: A observational cross-sectional study, carried out at the Anatomy and Forensic
departments of King Edward Medical College Lahore, and departments of Anatomy at Allama Iqbal Medical College,
Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Postgraduate Medical Institute and Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore
on 50 adult male cadavers with well-preserved kidneys, renal vasculature and the inferior vena cava over a period of
one year. Cadavers with deformed kidneys, or with congenital anomalies such as horse-shoe kidney, congenital or
acquired absence of one kidney, tumors of kidneys or injured renal vessels / inferior vena cava or evidence of surgery
i.e., partial nephrectomy, were excluded from the study. After dissection of the cadavers, kidneys, renal veins and the
inferior vena cava were exposed.
Results: Mean length and diameter of the right renal vein was 20.88±5.70 mm and 59.90±10.28mm (p value <0.001)
respectively, whereas mean length and diameter of left renal vein was 59.90±10.28mm and 11.57±1.78mm (p value
<0.01) respectively.
Conclusions: There is a significant variation in the morphometry of normal and variant renal venous system of humans.
Adequate awareness and knowledge of these variations must be necessary for surgeons in order to minimize
intraoperative as well as postoperative surgical disasters.
Key words: Cadavers, renal veins, morphometry, dissection.