Morphometric Relationships Between Renal Architecture and Ureteral Structure: A Cadaveric Study

Accurate knowledge of renal and ureteral anatomy is essential for urologic surgery, renal transplantation, endourologic procedures, and preoperative planning. Although ureteral dimensions have been described, the relationship between renal morphology, intrarenal architecture, and ureteral morphometry remains incompletely understood. This study evaluated associations between renal morphometric characteristics, ureteral structure, and donor body habitus in a cadaveric cohort.

A total of 104 kidneys and ureters from 52 cadaveric donors were analyzed. Renal length, width, thickness, weight, cortical thickness, medullary thickness, and the number of renal pyramids were measured using digital calipers. Ureteral length, wall thickness, and lumen width were measured at standardized distances from the renal pelvis. Associations between renal and ureteral morphometric variables were evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficients.

The mean kidney length, width, thickness, and weight were 9.31 ± 1.39 cm, 5.24 ± 0.96 cm, 3.99 ± 1.12 cm, and 104.4 ± 40.5 g, respectively. The mean ureter length was 21.52 ± 4.00 cm. Renal dimensions demonstrated weak positive correlations with ureter length (maximum r = 0.35) but minimal associations with ureteral wall thickness or lumen width. The number of renal pyramids demonstrated a moderate inverse correlation with ureteral wall thickness (r = -0.624). Segmental analysis demonstrated progressively stronger correlations between ureteral wall thickness and lumen width distally, with the strongest association observed 20 cm from the renal pelvis (r = 0.685). Body weight demonstrated minimal correlation with ureter length.

Renal size and body habitus demonstrate limited association with ureteral morphology, suggesting that ureteral dimensions cannot be reliably inferred from renal morphometry alone. These findings provide normative cadaveric morphometric data and improve understanding of structural variability within the upper urinary tract, which may inform anatomic considerations in ureteral reconstruction, renal transplantation, and endourologic procedures whereas providing a foundation for future clinical investigation.