The renal plexus is a complex network of nerves formed by filaments from the

celiac ganglia The celiac ganglia or coeliac ganglia are two large irregularly shaped masses of nerve tissue in the upper abdomen. Part of the sympathetic subdivision of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the two celiac ganglia are the largest ganglia in t ...

and

plexus 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 syste ...

aorticorenal ganglia The aorticorenal ganglion is composed of the superior mesenteric, renal, and inferior mesenteric ganglia. This is distinct from the celiac ganglia. However, they are part of the preaortic ganglia. Sympathetic input to the gut comes from the s ...

, lower

thoracic splanchnic nerves Thoracic splanchnic nerves are splanchnic nerves that arise from the sympathetic trunk in the thorax and travel inferiorly to provide sympathetic supply to the abdomen. The nerves contain preganglionic sympathetic fibers and general visceral affer ...

and first lumbar splanchnic nerve and aortic plexus. The nerves from these sources, fifteen or twenty in number, have a few ganglia developed upon them. It enters the kidneys on arterial branches to supply the vessels,

Renal glomerulus The glomerulus (plural glomeruli) is a network of small blood vessels (capillaries) known as a ''tuft'', located at the beginning of a nephron in the kidney. Each of the two kidneys contains about one million nephrons. The tuft is structurally s ...

, and

tubules In biology, a tubule is a general term referring to small tube or similar type of structure. Specifically, tubule can refer to: * a small tube or fistular structure * a minute tube lined with glandular epithelium * any hollow cylindrical body stru ...

with branches to the

ureteric plexus The ureteric plexus is a nerve plexus covering and innervating the ureter. The plexus can be graduated into three parts, as the ureter itself can be divided: In the upper part of the ureter, the plexus gets its nerve fibers mainly from the renal p ...

. Some filaments are distributed to the

spermatic plexus The spermatic plexus (or testicular plexus) is derived from the renal plexus, receiving branches from the aortic plexus. It accompanies the internal spermatic artery to the testis A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductiv ...

and, on the right side, to the

inferior vena cava The inferior vena cava is a large vein that carries the deoxygenated blood from the lower and middle body into the right atrium of the heart. It is formed by the joining of the right and the left common iliac veins, usually at the level of th ...

. The

ovarian plexus The ovarian plexus arises from the renal plexus, and is distributed to the ovary, and fundus of the uterus. It is carried in the suspensory ligament of the ovary.uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...

Additional images

References

External links