Purpose: Renal artery variations are important for clinical reasons. The aim of this study is to determine the originating level and variations of renal arteries with 64-channel multidetector computed tomography (MDCT).
Materials and methods: In a university hospital, 820 patients who underwent MDCT angiography of the abdominal aorta were retrospectively evaluated. The number, early division (ED), and originating level of renal artery were evaluated retrospectively. Variations of the renal artery on both sides, the difference between the genders with variations of the renal artery, were compared with chi-square test.
Results: Renal artery originating from the level of L1-L2 intervertebral disc was found in 37.0% and 38.9% of patients on the right and left sides, respectively. Renal artery variations, including extrarenal artery (ERA), were found in 27% and ED in 26.7% of the patients. Significant differences were found in ED and ERA prevalence for genders (p = 0.006 and p = 0.043, respectively). The prevalence of both variations is higher in males.
Conclusions: An awareness of renal vascular variations is very important for both surgeons and radiologists. In this series, renal arterial variations were found in approximately one-fourth of the study population.