A Radiographic Observation of the Kidney in the Normal Korean Adult / 대한비뇨기과학회지

ABSTRACT

The place of excretory urography in the diagnosis of both renal and extrarenal lesions has been firmly established. Radiographic findings of the kidney by means of excretory urogram is no less important than any other functional study in the evaluation of clinicalconditions, such as atrophic kidney, hydronephrosis, renal tumor, renal hypertension and polycystic kidney. The present investigation was undertaken to establish the morphological features of the normal kidney in Korean adults of both sexes, such as size (length and width), renovertebral angle and distance, number of calices and position in the renal pelvis. 200 cases of normal intravenous pyelography were subjected to the present investigation. These materials were randomly selected from the X-ray file of St. Vincent's Hospital covering the period from Jan. 1979 to Dec. l980. There were 96 males and 104 females of normal health, and the age ranged from 20 to 54 years old, showing comparatively even distribution. The results were as follows 1. Length The mean values in males were 12.50 cm for the right side and 12.95 cm for the left side and those in females were 11.99 cm for the right side and 12.43 cm for the left side. The figures for both sides were about 0.5 cm larger in males than in females and the left side was about 0.5 cm larger in both sexes than the right side. 2. Width The mean values in males were 6.24 cm for the right side and 6.60 cm, for the left side and those in females were 6.07 cm for the right side and 6.38 cm for the left side. The figure for the left side were wider than the right side about 0.4 cm in males and 0.3 cm in females, but there were no significant differences between the left side and the right side in both sexes. 3. Renovertebral angle The mean values in males were 15.39 degrees for the right side and 15.40 degrees for the left side and in females the figures were 13.34 degrees for the right side and 13.47 degrees for the left side. There were no significant differences between the right and the left side in both sexes, but the angle in both sides were about 2 larger in the male than in the females. 4. Renovertebral distance The mean values in males were 5.9 cm for the right side and 6.01 cm for the left side and in females the figures were 5.05 cm for the right side and 5.09 cm for the left side. There were no significant differences between the right and left and left side in both sexes, but the distance in both sides were about 0.9 cm larger in the males than in the females. 5. Number of the calices The number of major calices was 2 to 4 and that of minor calices 5 to 13. The number of minor calices was 7 to 10 in 357 kidneys (89.3%). 6. Position in renal pelvis An intrarenal pelvis was found in 263 cases (65.8%)and an extrarenal pelvis was seen in 137 cases (34.2%).