A study of horseshoe kidney: A rare anatomical variant

Dimple Mote, Vaishaly Bharambe

Abstract

Sacral During dissection of abdomen in a male cadaver at the medical college, a horseshoe shaped kidney mass was observed. It was dissected meticulously. The right and left kidneys were found to be fused at the lower end by the parenchymatous isthmus. The right kidney was supplied by right renal artery and three accessory arteries arising from abdominal aorta. The left kidney was supplied by left renal artery and two accessory renal arteries. The isthmus was supplied by a variant artery taking origin from abdominal aorta also giving branch to left kidney. Ureters ran downwards anterior to isthmus. The inferior mesenteric artery ran over the mass of tissue joining the lower poles of two kidneys. Horseshoe kidney is a rare congenital malformation which can be asymptomatic or can predispose the patient to ureteric obstruction, infection, malignancies, hydronephrosis and posing technical difficulties during renal surgeries, renal transplants and endovascular procedures.

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