Anatomical variations in the human testicular blood vessels

The testis is an important organ upon which the survival of the human species depends. The testicular arteries and veins play major roles in the thermo-regulation that is essential for the efficient functioning of this organ. However, very little is found in the literature about the veins and their anatomical variations. Therefore the testicular veins and arteries in 150 dissection room cadavers at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and University of Zimbabwe, Harare were examined for anatomical variations from the usual descriptions in textbooks of Anatomy. Variations were found more frequently in the testicular veins than in the accompanying arteries. The variations, which were more common on the left side, were seen in 32 (21.3%) of the cadavers. In 6 (18.8%) of these cases, the variations were present bilaterally. The veins were either completely or partially duplicated, with or without beading. The duplicated veins terminated in the corresponding renal veins either separately or after combining into one vein. In two cases, the right testicular vein terminated in the right renal vein, rather than in the inferior vena cava. Anatomical variations of the testicular artery were present in 4.7% of cases and were associated with their origin, which were either from unusually high levels of the abdominal aorta or from the renal artery.