ABSTRACT
Horseshoe kidney is a rare non-fatal congenital malformation of renal development. It usually remains asymptomatic and in many cases it is discovered incidentally. This anomaly is found twice as often in men than in women. The present report, horseshoe kidney was discovered in 62-year-old male cadaver during routine dissection. The inferior poles of the kidneys were fused to form a parenchymatous isthmus, resulting in a horseshoe kidney. The horseshoe kidney was located anterior to the abdominal aorta and the inferior vena cava at a level lower than the normal kidney. Both renal hila were directed anteriorly and the ureters which drained from each renal pelvis descended anterior to the isthmus to enter the urinary bladder normally. There were 3 renal arteries, 1 on the right and 2 on the left. The inferior vena cava was behind the isthmus and the lower pole of the right kidney. Two renal veins opened independently into the inferior vena cava. It is important to be aware of this renal anomaly in clinical practice, especially during renal surgeries, renal transplants, or surgical and endovascular procedures on the aorta.
ABSTRACT
Horseshoe kidney is a rare non-fatal congenital malformation of renal development. It usually remains asymptomatic and in many cases it is discovered incidentally. This anomaly is found twice as often in men than in women. The present report, horseshoe kidney was discovered in 62-year-old male cadaver during routine dissection. The inferior poles of the kidneys were fused to form a parenchymatous isthmus, resulting in a horseshoe kidney. The horseshoe kidney was located anterior to the abdominal aorta and the inferior vena cava at a level lower than the normal kidney. Both renal hila were directed anteriorly and the ureters which drained from each renal pelvis descended anterior to the isthmus to enter the urinary bladder normally. There were 3 renal arteries, 1 on the right and 2 on the left. The inferior vena cava was behind the isthmus and the lower pole of the right kidney. Two renal veins opened independently into the inferior vena cava. It is important to be aware of this renal anomaly in clinical practice, especially during renal surgeries, renal transplants, or surgical and endovascular procedures on the aorta.
ABSTRACT
The horseshoe kidney was originally regarded as a rare anatomical curiosity, but with the aid of retrograde pyelogram, intravenous urogram and renal arteriograms in this present age of diagnosis, the incidence of horseshoe kidney is estimated at 1 in 200-400 individuals or 1 in 700 autopsies and usually remains asymptomatic. The present report is concerned with a case of horseshoe kidney, which was observed during routine cadaveric dissection, for student education in anatomy dissection hall of Osmania medical college, in a male cadaver. The kidneys formed a U-shaped structure as a result of fusion at the inferior poles of the original kidneys by a parenchymatous isthmus. As a whole, the structure presented a typical horseshoe shape. The location of the kidney was lower than that of the normal kidney. The renal arterial system was almost normal except for a surplus artery into the isthmus that directly originated from the aorta, at the origin of inferior mesenteric artery. Venous drainage of both the kidneys and the isthmus was through two veins which opened independently into the inferior vena cava. The hila on both sides opened towards the ventral direction, and the ureters descended in front of the isthmus and entered the bladder normally. This report is being made because it affords material for a review of embryological and gross anatomy findings in a case of horseshoe kidney, which could help in a thorough urologic evaluation in diagnosed cases prior to any surgical intervention.