Surg Radiol Anat (2007) 29:601–603 DOI 10.1007/s00276-007-0232-2 123 ANATOMICAL VARIATIONS Unusual origin and course of the testicular arteries Halil Ibrahim Acar · Fatih Yazar · Hasan Ozan Received: 26 February 2007 / Accepted: 14 June 2007 / Published online: 7 July 2007  Springer-Verlag 2007 Abstract Background The testicular arteries usually arise from the anterolateral aspect of the abdominal aorta just inferior to the renal arteries at the level of the second lumbar vertebra. However, they may also originate from the renal artery, middle suprarenal artery, one of the lumbar arteries, com- mon or internal iliac artery, or the superior epigastric artery. Methods An unusual origin of the right testicular artery and an unusual course of the left one were observed during routine dissection of the retroperitoneal space of a 43-year- old male cadaver. Results The right testicular artery originated from the inferior segmental branch of the right renal artery. After the left testicular artery originated from the anterolateral sur- face of the abdominal aorta just inferior to the left renal artery it was located between the left renal vein and the left renal artery and descended anterior to the renal vein. There- after it coursed on its normal route distally with the testicu- lar vein. Conclusions Awareness of variations of the testicular arteries, such as that shown in this case, is important during surgical and radiological procedures pertaining to kidney. Keywords Kidney · Renal artery · Testicular artery · Anatomy · Variation Introduction Testicular arterial anatomy has been studied in detail because of its importance in testicular physiology, as well as testicular and renal surgery. The testicular arteries usually arise from the anterolateral aspect of the abdominal aorta just inferior to the renal arter- ies at the level of the second lumbar vertebra; however, they may also originate from the renal artery, middle supra- renal artery, one of the lumbar arteries, common or internal iliac artery, or the superior epigastric artery [1–3, 7, 9–11, 17]. The level of the originating points of the testicular arteries from the aorta can be superior to that of the renal artery [4, 14]. Additionally they may come from the renal artery, its branches and polar arteries of kidney [2, 13]. We encountered a case of testicular arteries with an unusual origin on the right side and unusual course on the left side of the same cadaver. Awareness of variations of the testicular arteries, such as that shown in this case, is important during surgical and radiological procedures per- taining to kidney. Case report During routine dissection of the abdominal region of 43- year-old male Turkish cadaver, unusual variations of the testicular arteries were observed. The right testicular artery originated from the inferior segmental branch of the right renal artery (Figs. 1, 2). Its origin was at the level of the second lumbar vertebra. The rest of its course was normal. There was superior polar artery arising from the right renal artery (Fig. 2). The left testicular artery originated from the anterolateral surface of the abdominal aorta just inferior to the left renal H. I. Acar (&) Department of Anatomy, Ankara University School of Medicine, Sihhiye, 06100 Ankara, Turkey e-mail: drhalilacar@yahoo.com F. Yazar · H. Ozan Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey