Circumaortic left renal vein-a rare case report

During routine dissection which was carried out for the medical students, a circumaortic left renal vein draining into inferior vena cava was observed. There were 2 renal veins through which the left kidney drained into the inferior vena cava, of which the larger one ran ventral to aorta and the other smaller one ran posterior to aorta and received lumbar veins before opening into inferior vena cava. This is a relatively rare condition which can result in left renal hypertension (LRVH) syndrome which is otherwise called as anterior and posterior nutcracker syndromes. This venous anomaly results from the errors of embryological development. It is of clinical significance, mainly during retroperitoneal surgeries and intra caval interventions. It is also important in conditions which warrant extensive venous dissections, venous reconstructions as in transplantations and invasion of veins by cancerous tissue, resulting in life threatening haemorrhage.