Renal arteryBrings blood from the aorta to the kidney.
Segmental arteryThe first branches of the renal artery.
Interlobar arteryRuns between the renal pyramids toward the cortex.
Arcuate arteryArches along the border of cortex and medulla.
Cortical radiate arteryRuns out through the cortex and feeds the afferent arterioles.
Veins and a pyramid 5
Cortical radiate veinCarries blood from the cortex to an arcuate vein.
Arcuate veinCollects blood from the cortical radiate veins.
Interlobar veinRuns between the renal pyramids to the renal vein.
Renal veinCarries blood from the kidney to the inferior vena cava.
Renal pyramidA cone-shaped block of the medulla.
Around one nephron 5
Afferent arterioleCarries blood into the glomerulus.
GlomerulusA ball of capillaries where blood is filtered.
Efferent arterioleCarries blood out of the glomerulus.
Peritubular capillariesA net of capillaries around the tubule of the nephron.
Vasa rectaStraight vessels that run down into the medulla.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, Kidney, Renal circulation, Arcuate arteries of the kidney, Interlobar arteries, Interlobular arteries, Arcuate vein, Interlobar veins, Interlobular veins, Vasa recta (kidney) and Peritubular capillaries, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renal_circulation . (2) TeachMeAnatomy, The Kidneys, https://teachmeanatomy.info/abdomen/viscera/kidney/ : the arteries from the renal artery to the efferent arteriole, the peritubular network and the vasa recta. (3) Gray's Anatomy (1918), The Kidneys, https://www.bartleby.com/107/253.html : the interlobular arteries and veins, the venous arcades, the afferent and efferent vessels of the glomerulus. (4) For the modern vein names, passages found by archive.org's full-text search: Laboratory Manual for Anatomy and Physiology (2017), https://archive.org/details/laboratorymanual0006mari (cortical radiate veins, arcuate veins, interlobar veins), and An Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology II (2011), https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780078044465 (interlobar veins in the renal columns). Licence: own work
The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry, 2026-10-01; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
This labeling quiz names a blood vessel of the kidney and you tap it on the drawing. Fifteen parts come five at a time; one is a renal pyramid, a landmark. Vessels you miss are offered again at the end.
Read the full guide
Names that say where a vessel runs
Interlobar vessels run between the renal pyramids, in the renal columns. Arcuate vessels are named for the arcs they make along the border of cortex and medulla. Cortical radiate vessels run out through the cortex toward the surface. The renal artery and renal vein are the two large vessels at the hilum, and the segmental arteries are the first branches of the renal artery.
On the whole kidney, look in the upper half for an artery and in the lower half for a vein.
The vasa recta branch off the efferent arterioles of the nephrons closest to the medulla.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between afferent and efferent arterioles?
The afferent arteriole carries blood into the glomerulus. The efferent arteriole carries it out, on to the peritubular capillaries or the vasa recta. One way to keep them apart: efferent and exit both start with e.
What are the vasa recta?
Straight vessels that run down into the medulla beside the loop of the nephron and come back up. The name is Latin: vas, vessel, and rectus, straight. Peritubular capillaries, by contrast, surround the parts of the tubule that lie in the cortex.
Where does the renal artery come from?
It branches directly from the abdominal aorta, one to each kidney. Blood leaves the kidney by the renal vein, which carries it to the inferior vena cava.