A Unique Case of Incomplete Bifid Ureter and Associated Arterial Variations

Figure 1

The dissected path of the left bifid ureter and aberrant renal artery. (a) depicts the dissected path of the left bifid ureter with labeling of relevant landmarks while (b) depicts relevant structures pseudocolored for ease in visualization. The left renal vein (blue in (b)) is observed as the anterior-most structure in the renal hilum, thereby serving as a reference point for relationships in this region. The left renal artery (green in (b)), located posterior to the renal vein, has upper two segments that can be observed entering the superior pole of the kidney (K in (a)). The left aberrant renal artery (pink in (b)) is observed originating from the abdominal aorta (AA in (a)) and branching before reaching the inferior pole of the kidney. As the aberrant artery courses toward the left kidney, it gives off the highly coiled left ovarian artery (red in (b)) that descends into the pelvis medial to the left ureter. The superior and inferior contributions to the bifid ureter (yellow) emerge from the posterior aspect of the renal hilum and unite to form the left ureter proximal to the bladder and near the anterior surface of the psoas major muscle (PM in (a)). The left ureter crosses over the left common iliac artery (CI in (a)) before entering the pelvis to join the bladder.

(a)

(b)