Radiologic Evaluation of the Renal Axis in Patients with an Accessory Renal Artery

branches of the abdominal aorta. A single renal artery supplies each kidney in most individuals. The renal arteries typically arise just below the origin site of the superior mesenteric artery and they travel laterally behind the renal veins (1, 2). Among the various types of renal artery anomalies, the most clinically important variation is the accessory renal artery. Accessory renal arteries are especially important in situations when accurate depiction of the renal circulatory system is required. These situations include surgical reconstruction of the abdominal aorta, renal transplantation and renovascular hypertension (3-5). When studying the radiographs of the abdomen and pelvis, abnormally vertical renal axes were seen in some patients. Some of these patients had underlying diseases such as scoliosis of the lumbar spine, horseshoe kidneys, renal masses, renal cysts or other retroperitoneal lesions that might cause a mass effect (6, 7). In clinical J Korean Soc Radiol 2010;62:263-269