Renal artery

The renal arteries are the only blood supply of the kidneys. Each leaves the side of the abdominal aorta, usually at the level of the disc between L1 and L2. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

Latin arteria renalis (Wikipedia, Renal artery, CC BY-SA 4.0) · FMA14751 · Cardiovascular system

The great vessels from the front, all faded except the right and left renal arteries, highlighted running out to each side from the abdominal aorta. — Both renal arteries in place, seen from the front. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

The right and left renal arteries on their own, seen from the front. — The two renal arteries alone, seen from the front. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

Open it in the Great Vessels Explorer See it alone in 3D

Where are the renal arteries?

Each is about 4 to 6 cm long and 5 to 6 mm wide. They run outward and backward to the hilum of the kidney. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

The right renal artery is the longer of the two. OpenStax puts this down to the aorta lying left of the vertebral column, so the right artery has further to travel. It passes behind the inferior vena cava to reach the right kidney. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

What does the renal artery supply?

At rest the kidneys take a large share of the cardiac output: about a quarter in OpenStax, and about 20%, roughly 1 liter per minute, in StatPearls. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 25.3; StatPearls, Physiology, Renal Blood Flow and Filtration)

The renal artery also supplies the adrenal gland and the ureter on its own side. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

How does the renal artery branch?

Before the hilum it splits into an anterior and a posterior division, which carry about 75% and 25% of its blood. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

Inside the kidney it branches into segmental, interlobar, arcuate and cortical radiate (interlobular) arteries, then into afferent arterioles. Each adult kidney holds about 1 to 1.5 million nephrons; OpenStax gives 1.3 million. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 25.3; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery and Abdomen and Pelvis: Kidneys)

What lies next to the renal artery?

Each kidney connects directly to the great vessels: the renal artery is a branch of the aorta itself, and the renal vein ends in the inferior vena cava. The artery enters the kidney, and the vein and renal pelvis leave it, at the renal hilum. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 25.3; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Veins and Abdomen and Pelvis: Kidneys)

Each artery runs behind its renal vein and enters the hilum in front of the renal pelvis. Behind the first part of the right artery lie the right crus of the diaphragm and the psoas major. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

How common are extra renal arteries?

At least 30% of people have accessory renal arteries, and about 10% have a renal artery that branches early. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

Where the sources differ

OpenStax places the renal arteries about 2.5 cm below the superior mesenteric artery; StatPearls has them arise immediately below it. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

OpenStax lists the order at the hilum as artery, vein, renal pelvis from front to back, while StatPearls puts the artery behind the renal vein. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 25.3; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

OpenStax places the aorta to the left of the vertebral column. StatPearls (Abdominal Aorta) places the abdominal aorta in front of the lumbar vertebrae, slightly to the left, with the inferior vena cava to its right. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Abdominal Aorta)

The renal artery at a glance
Feature	Detail and source
Arises from	Side of the abdominal aorta, usually at the L1/L2 disc (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)
Length and width	4 to 6 cm long, 5 to 6 mm wide (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)
Enters	Renal hilum, behind the renal vein and in front of the renal pelvis (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery)

Touches in this model

Measured on the BodyParts3D meshes: surfaces within 2 mm of the renal artery, nearest first, 12 of 15.

Descending aorta in contact
Inferior vena cava in contact
Left renal vein in contact
Right renal vein in contact
Superior mesenteric artery in contact
Diaphragm in contact
First lumbar vertebra in contact
Intervertebral disk of first lumbar vertebra in contact
Left kidney in contact
Left ureter in contact
Right kidney in contact
Right psoas major in contact

Sources

StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Artery. Stephen W. Leslie; Hussain Sajjad. Last update August 8, 2023. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 20.5, Circulatory Pathways. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 25.3, Gross Anatomy of the Kidney. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Physiology, Renal Blood Flow and Filtration. Rajeev Dalal; Zachary S. Bruss; Jasjit S. Sehdev. Last update July 24, 2023. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Kidneys. Felix A. Garza; Stephen W. Leslie. Last update September 15, 2025. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Renal Veins. Cole S. Bowdino; Justin Owens; Palma M. Shaw. Last update January 2, 2023. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Abdominal Aorta. Clement T. Tran; Cheng Ying Wu; Stephen J. Bordes; Forshing Lui. Last update July 25, 2023. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.