Ectopic kidney in front of the right common iliac artery and its blood vascular supply--a case report

A discoid-shaped ectopic kidney located in front of the right common iliac artery was observed in a 71-year-old Japanese man. The right kidney was normally positioned, but the left kidney was not observed in the normal position. The ureter of the ectopic kidney descended laterally to the left ductus deferens. The ectopic kidney received three arteries which arose from the anterior aspect of the abdominal aorta. Two of the arteries supplied the left half of the kidney. The other supplied the right half and gave off two branches to the adipose tissue around the right kidney; these branches meant that this artery belonged to the right side. Venous drainage from the kidney was handled by two veins. One collected venous radicles from the right half of the kidney and flowed into the inferior vena cava; this vein belonged to the right side. The other served the left half and joined with the left lumbar vein, which finally drained into the left common iliac vein; this vein was attributed to the left side. The present ectopic kidney had a left-side ureter, and vascular supply on both the right and left sides. This disunity or dissociation of laterality in the vessels and the ureter seemed to be strongly related to the location of this ectopic kidney in the median region.