Blood Supply
The renal arteries branch directly from the abdominal aorta and enter the kidneys through the renal hilus.
Inside our kidneys, the renal arteries diverge into the smaller afferent arterioles of the kidneys.
Each afferent arteriole carries blood into the renal cortex, where it separates into a bundle of capillaries known as a glomerulus.
From the glomerulus, the blood recollects into smaller efferent arterioles that descend into the renal medulla.
The efferent arterioles separate into the peritubular capillaries that surround the renal tubules.
Next, the peritubular capillaries merge to form veins that merge again to form the large renal vein.
Finally, the renal vein exits the kidney and joins with the inferior vena cava, which carries blood back to the heart.