Arterial supply to the rabbit adrenal gland

The adrenal gland regulates stress responses by releasing steroid hormones, whose synthesis and secretion are influenced by adrenal blood flow. Adrenalectomy is commonly performed in rabbits to study the function of the adrenal gland. Although knowledge of the arterial supply to the adrenal gland forms the anatomical basis of the surgery, its description in prior studies is incomplete for the rabbit. Therefore, we observed the adrenal arteries in 27 male and 11 female New Zealand White rabbits using the colored latex injection method. The branching pattern of the adrenal arteries was divided into three major types based on the number of parent arteries that gave rise to the adrenal arteries. Thirty-four percent of right halves exhibited one parent artery and were categorized as type 1. Fifty-five percent of right halves and 76% of left halves had two parent arteries and were categorized as type 2. Eleven percent of right halves and 24% of left halves had three parent arteries and were categorized as type 3. The number of adrenal arteries varied from 3 to 16 on the right, 3 to 18 on the left, and 9 to 30 in total in each individual. These findings demonstrate the remarkable individual variation in arterial supply to the rabbit adrenal gland, suggesting that such variations should always be considered during experimental treatments in the rabbit.