Cortical radial arteries, formerly known as interlobular arteries,
are
renal blood vessels
The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...
given off at right angles from the side of the
arcuate arteries looking toward the
cortical substance
The renal cortex is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. In the adult, it forms a continuous smooth outer zone with a number of projections (renal column, cortical columns) that extend down between the ...
. The interlobular arteries pass directly outward between the
medullary rays to reach the fibrous tunic, where they end in the capillary network of this part.
These vessels do not
anastomose with each other, but form
end-arteries.
In their outward course, they give off lateral branches, which are the
afferent arterioles that supply the
renal corpuscles. The afferent arterioles, then, enter
Bowman's capsule
Bowman's capsule (or the Bowman capsule, capsula glomeruli, or glomerular capsule) is a cup-like sac at the beginning of the tubular component of a nephron in the mammalian kidney that performs the first step in the filtration of blood to form ur ...
and end in the
glomerulus.
From each glomerulus, the corresponding
efferent arteriole arises and then exits the capsule near the point where the afferent arteriole enters.
Distally
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
, efferent arterioles branch out to form dense
plexuses
In neuroanatomy, a plexus (from the Latin term for "braid") is a branching network of vessels or nerves. The vessels may be blood vessels (veins, capillaries) or lymphatic vessels. The nerves are typically axons outside the central nervous system. ...
(i.e.,
capillary beds
A capillary is a small blood vessel from 5 to 10 micrometres (μm) in diameter. Capillaries are composed of only the tunica intima, consisting of a thin wall of simple squamous endothelial cells. They are the smallest blood vessels in the body: ...
) around their adjacent
renal tubules
The nephron is the minute or microscopic structural and functional unit of the kidney. It is composed of a renal corpuscle and a renal tubule. The renal corpuscle consists of a tuft of capillaries called a glomerulus and a cup-shaped structure ca ...
. For
cortical nephrons, a single network of capillaries, known as the
peritubular capillaries, surrounds the entire renal tubule, whereas for
juxtamedullary nephrons, the peritubular capillaries surround only the
proximal
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
and
distal convoluted tubules
The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting tubule.
Physiology
It is partly responsible for the regulation of potassium, sodium, calcium, and pH.
On its apical surface (lumen ...
, while another network branching from the efferent arteriole, known as the
straight arterioles of kidney
The vasa recta of the kidney, (vasa recta renis) are the straight arterioles, and the straight venules of the kidney, – a series of blood vessels in the blood supply of the kidney that enter the medulla as the straight arterioles, and leave th ...
, surrounds the
nephron loop
In the kidney, the loop of Henle () (or Henle's loop, Henle loop, nephron loop or its Latin counterpart ''ansa nephroni'') is the portion of a nephron that leads from the proximal convoluted tubule to the distal convoluted tubule. Named after its ...
(of
Henle Henle can refer to:
* Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, a German physician, pathologist and anatomist (1809–1885)
** Loop of Henle in the kidney, named after Henle
*Fritz Henle, a photographer, known as "Mr. Rollei" for his use of the 2.25" square for ...
).
Name
* Lote refers to them as "''cortical radial arteries (formerly called inter-lobular arteries)''"
* Mescher et al refer to them as "''interlobular arteries (or cortical radial arteries)''"
References
*
External links
* - "Urinary System: kidney, H&E, interlobular artery and vein"
{{Authority control
Kidney anatomy