ABSTRACT
Introduction: The left renal vein is preferred over the right in renal transplantation because of its longer length. It is important for the surgeons to know the course of the left renal vein and whether it is pre-aortic or not to avoid unexpected hemorrhage and even death. There are considerable no of radiological studies on Retro aortic Left Renal Vein but anatomical studies other than the Japanese were not found in the literature. In view of its anatomical, embryological, clinical and surgical importance the present study was undertaken. Materials and Methods : The present study was conducted in 60 adult cadavers (10 female and 50 male) allotted to 1st M.B.B.S and M.D P.G students at Pinnamaneni Siddhartha institute of medical sciences & research foundation Gannavaram & N.R.I. Academy of Medical Sciences, Andhra Pradesh, India for routine dissection over a period of 5 consecutive years (2010-2015). Results: Left Renal Vein anomalies can be classified into 4 types in the literature.Type1 is the most common in its occurrence followed by type 3,2and 4.Type 4 was rarely reported .In the present study the percentage of incidence of type 1, type 2 and type3 are 6.6%,1.6%,3.3% respectively and type 4 was not observed. Conclusion: Knowing the variable expressions of the renal venous system allows better understanding of the clinical events. Pre operative CT can be considered mandatory as it helps in safe surgical outcome particularly in the retro peritoneal area.