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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
A Novel Method: Super-selective Adrenal Venous Sampling
Published on: September 15, 2017
Extraorganic vascular system of adrenal glands in human fetuses
K Pityński1, A Skawina, J Polakiewicz
1Department of Anatomy, Collegium Medicum of Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.
Abstract:
The injection method was used to study the origin and variability of the blood vessels forming the extraorganic vascular system of the adrenal glands. Studies were carried out on 40 human fetuses of a crown-rump length between 113 and 280 mm (14 to 28 weeks of fetal age). It was proved that the arterial blood supply during the fetal period is extremely variable in both the origin and the number of adrenal arteries, as well as in the asymmetry of the blood supply between the left and right adrenal glands. The three main origins of the suprarenal arteries are from the inferior phrenic artery, the abdominal aorta and the renal artery. The inferior phrenic artery is the main one supplying the suprarenal glands during the fetal period. A characteristic feature of the extraorganic venous system in fetal adrenal glands is the constant presence of the adrenal vein, including number, orifice and the main tributaries.
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