Kidney Blood Flow
Quizzes on the Anatomy of Renal Blood Vessels
Introduction
The renal blood supply consists of a complex network of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, and veins. Arteries carry blood into the kidney and divide into smaller vessels. Arterioles deliver blood to capillaries associated with the nephrons. The nephrons and capillaries work together to remove waste products and regulate the blood’s water and ion content. Finally, veins collect the blood and return it to systemic circulation.
Major Arteries
Oxygenated blood flows toward the kidney from the abdominal aorta via the renal artery. Before entering the kidney, the renal artery divides into segmental arteries that supply five separate regions of the kidney. As they pass through the renal hilum, the segmental arteries further divide to form the interlobar arteries. These vessels carry blood through the renal columns, which are located between the renal pyramids. The interlobar arteries branch into the arcuate arteries, which curve along the bases of the renal pyramids at the boundary between the renal cortex and medulla.
Arterioles and Capillaries
Each arcuate artery supplies blood to several cortical radiate (or interlobular) arteries that extend perpendicularly into the renal cortex. Numerous afferent arterioles branch from the cortical radiate arteries and deliver blood to the glomerular capillaries, where fluid is filtered from the blood into the capsule of each nephron. Blood is carried away from the glomeruli by efferent arterioles, which form peritubular capillaries or vasa recta. Peritubular capillaries surround the nephron tubules in the cortex, while the vasa recta extend alongside nephron loops in the medulla. As filtrate flows through the nephron tubules, essential substances are reabsorbed into the bloodstream and waste products are secreted into the tubules.
Major Veins
Venous drainage from the kidneys begins when capillaries empty into the cortical radiate (interlobular) veins in the renal cortex. These veins transport blood to the arcuate veins, which run parallel to the arcuate arteries along the corticomedullary junction. The arcuate veins drain into the interlobar veins, which carry blood through the renal columns toward the renal hilum. The interlobar veins join to form the renal vein. Finally, blood leaves the kidney through the renal vein and returns to the heart through the inferior vena cava.
Quizzes
Use this activity to create content.
Use this activity to create content.
Terms of Use
Human Bio Media materials are open-source and can be adapted and shared by anyone according to the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License guidelines.
If you are redistributing Human Bio Media materials in print or digital formats, you should include on every page the following attribution:
Access it for free at https://humanbiomedia.org/
References and Attributions
Cleveland Clinic – “Renal Artery.”
ScienceDirect – “Kidney Blood Flow.”
ScienceDirect – “Kidney Circulation.”
OpenStax; Anatomy and Physiology – “Gross Anatomy of the Kidney” (Access for free at – https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction).
Radiopaedia – “Kidneys.”
University of Nottingham – “Anatomy of the Kidneys: Blood Flow“.