Kidney Blood Vessels Diagram – Renal Artery to Vein

All 15 parts on the diagram

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Arteries 5

Renal artery Brings blood from the aorta to the kidney.
Segmental artery The first branches of the renal artery.
Interlobar artery Runs between the renal pyramids toward the cortex.
Arcuate artery Arches along the border of cortex and medulla.
Cortical radiate artery Runs out through the cortex and feeds the afferent arterioles.

Veins and a pyramid 5

Cortical radiate vein Carries blood from the cortex to an arcuate vein.
Arcuate vein Collects blood from the cortical radiate veins.
Interlobar vein Runs between the renal pyramids to the renal vein.
Renal vein Carries blood from the kidney to the inferior vena cava.
Renal pyramid A cone-shaped block of the medulla.

Around one nephron 5

Afferent arteriole Carries blood into the glomerulus.
Glomerulus A ball of capillaries where blood is filtered.
Efferent arteriole Carries blood out of the glomerulus.
Peritubular capillaries A net of capillaries around the tubule of the nephron.
Vasa recta Straight 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 kidney blood vessels diagram follows blood from the renal artery to the renal vein. The first view is the whole kidney cut open; the second enlarges the vessels of one nephron.

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The path of the blood

Blood enters by the renal artery, which branches into segmental arteries. Interlobar arteries run between the pyramids, arcuate arteries arch over their bases, and cortical radiate arteries run out through the cortex to the afferent arterioles. From a glomerulus, blood leaves by the efferent arteriole into the peritubular capillaries or the vasa recta. It returns by cortical radiate, arcuate and interlobar veins to the renal vein.

About the drawing

Arteries are drawn in the upper half and veins in the lower half so each can be found. In a real kidney they run side by side.

There is no segmental vein: the interlobar veins join to form the renal vein.
Older books call the cortical radiate vessels the interlobular artery and vein. The quiz accepts both.

Questions and answers

What is the order of blood flow through the kidney?

Renal artery, segmental artery, interlobar artery, arcuate artery, cortical radiate artery, afferent arteriole, glomerulus, efferent arteriole, peritubular capillaries or vasa recta, cortical radiate vein, arcuate vein, interlobar vein, renal vein.

What is the difference between interlobar and interlobular arteries?

Interlobar arteries run between the renal pyramids and lead to the arcuate arteries. Interlobular arteries, now usually called cortical radiate arteries, are the smaller branches that run from the arcuate arteries out through the cortex.

Which blood vessels are associated with a nephron?

The afferent arteriole brings blood to the glomerulus and the efferent arteriole takes it away. Peritubular capillaries then surround the tubule, and the vasa recta run straight down into the medulla.

Is this the label the blood vessels of the kidney and nephron exercise?

No. That is a publisher's homework title. This drawing is our own and shows the same vessels, so you can practice the names here. We have no answer key for any exercise.