The renal artery is the artery that vascularizes the kidney, it is the artery responsible for channeling waste blood into the excretory system. There are two in number, one for each kidney that is born from the aorta and travels to the kidney through its hilum. Due to the slightly left position of the midline of the aorta, the left renal artery is shorter than the right, which laterally surrounds the inferior vena cava. They then branch into two large branches (anteriopelic and retropyelic), which before penetrating renal tissue divide into several segmental arteries. After this process they go to the nephron where filtration and formation of urine occurs.
