2001 Volume 78 Issue 5 Pages 169-172
During cadaver dissection for student education in anatomy laboratory of Gifu University School of Medicine, a case of the horseshoe kidney was observed in a 63-year-old Japanese female cadaver. The kidney was fused at the lower poles of the original kidneys by the parenchymatous isthmus and showed a typical horseshoe shape. The hili on both sides opened towards the ventral direction, and the ureters descended in front of the isthmus and entered the bladder normally. The location of the kidney was lower than that of the normal kidney. Four surplus arteries entered the isthmus and the lower part of the kidney besides the normal right and left renal arteries. The incidence of the horseshoe kidney during the dissecting practice at Gifu University School of Medicine from 1971 to 1997 was estimated to be 0.36% (4 out of 1130 bodies).