The renal arteries arise about one centimeter below the celiac trunk, opposite the interval between the spinous process of the twelfth thoracic and that of the first lumbar vertebra. The renal arteries arise from the sides of the aorta at a right angle, below the superior mesenteric arteries. They are opposite the upper border of the second lumbar vertebra. The right renal artery is longer that the left, because of the location of the aorta to the left of the median line. It is lower than the left because of the lower position of the right kidney. These vessels subdivide into several branches before entering the hilum of the kidney, the vein being in front of them and the ureter behind them. The right renal artery is crossed in front by the inferior vena cava.

Arteria renalis

Artère rénale