Retroperitoneum Flashcards
Why do you want something to be retroperitoneum?
- want organs to be kept in place such as liver and kidney due to veins/arteries running through and want them to remain vertical
Where is the retroperitoneum located?
- sub-region of abdomen that lies posterior to peritoneal cavity
What is the contents of the retroperitoneum?
- retroperitoneal structures
- extraperitoneal fat
What are the retroperitoneal structures?
- duodenum
- pancreas
- ascending colon
- descending colon
- kidneys and ureters
- suprarenal glands
- fat, fascia and fascial space
- aorta and IVC
- nervous tissue and structures
- lymphatics
What is the vertebral level of the left kidney?
- T12 to L2
What is the vertebral level of the right kidney?
- L1 to L3
Where do the kidneys lie?
- in paravertebral gutters
What sits between the kidneys and the paravertebral gutters?
- perirenal fat
Where does the superior pole of the kidney sit in relation to the inferior pole?
- the superior is pole is more medial
What is the advantage of the inferior pole of the kidney sitting more lateral?
- it allows for the ureters to come straight out of the kidney and follow the psoas major
What are the internal structures of the kidneys?
- renal hilum
- renal sinus
- renal pelvis
- major calyces
- minor calyces
What is the renal pedicle?
- all the structures that pass through the hilum
What is the contents of the renal pedicle?
- ureter
- renal artery
- renal vein
- nerves
- lymphatics
What are the posterior relations of the kidneys?
- thoracic diaphragm
- transversus abdominis
- quadratus lumborum
- psoas major
What is the diameter of abdominal ureter?
3-5 mm
What is the length of the abdominal ureter?
12 cm
Where does the abdominal ureter become the pelvic ureter?
- once is crosses the pelvic brim
What are 3 main constrictions of the abdominal ureters?
- ureteropelvic junction
- common iliac vessels
- pelvic brim
What are the 4 main variations of ureters?
- duplex/double pelvis
- bifid ureter
- duplex/double ureter
- ectopic ureter
What are the three main anterior aorta branches?
- coeliac artery
- superior mesenteric artery
- inferior mesenteric artery
What are the three main lateral branches of the aorta?
- renal arteries
- middle suprarenal arteries
- testicular/ovarian arteries
What are the two main posterior branches of the aorta?
- lumbar arteries
- median sacral artery
What are the tributies of the inferior vena cava
- Left and right common iliac veins
- 3rd and 4th lumbar veins
- testicular/ovarian veins
- Left and right renal arteries
- azygos vein
- right suprarenal vein
- right, middle and left hepatic veins
What vertebral level is the anterior rami of spinal nerve?
- L1 to L4
What nerves comes of the lumbar plexuses?
- femoral and obturator
