The renal veins that drain the kidney . They connect the kidney
to the inferior vena cava It is usually singular to each kidney,
except in the condition "multiple renal veins". It also divides
into 2 divisions upon entering the kidney: - the anterior branch
which receives blood from the anterior portion of the kidney
and, - the posterior branch which receives blood from the
posterior portion. Often, each renal vein will have a branch
that receives blood from the ureter. Because the inferior vena
cava is on the right half of the body, the left renal vein is
generally the longer of the two. Because the inferior vena cava
is not laterally symmetrical, the left renal vein often receives
the following veins: This is in contrast to the right side of
the body, where these veins drain directly into the IVC.
Diseases associated with the renal vein include renal vein
thrombosis (RVT) and nutcracker syndrome (renal vein entrapment
syndrome). - - "Retroperitoneal structures on the posterior
abdominal wall."