Cadaveric assessment of kidney dimensions among Nigerians- a preliminary report

Abstract

The usually paired human kidneys are retroperitoneal urinary organs with some endocrine functions. Standard text books of anatomy ascribe single value to each of the dimension of length, width and thickness. These values do not give consideration to racial and genetic variability in human morphology. They may thus be erroneous to students and clinicians working on Nigerians, hence the need to establish reference values for Nigerians. The length, width, thickness and weight of sixty kidneys harvested from cadavers of thirty adult Nigerians (Male: Female; 27: 3) were measured. Respective volume was calculated using the ellipsoid formula. The mean length of the kidney was 9.84±0.89 cm (9.63±0.88 {right}; 10.06±0.86 {left}), width- 5.18±0.70 cm (5.21±0.72 {right}; 5.14±0.70 {left}), thickness-3.45±0.56 cm (3.36±0.58 {right}, 3.53±0.55 {left}), weight- 125.06±22.34 g (122.36±21.70 {right}; 127.76 ±24.02 {left}) and volume of 95.45± 24.40 cm3 (91.73± 26.84 {right}; 99.17± 25.75 {left}). Though the values of the parameters measured were higher for the left kidney (except for the width), they were not statistically significant. The various parameters obtained by this study differ from those of similar studies from other continents. Stating single value for each of the parameter of length, width and thickness of the kidney as currently obtained in textbooks of anatomy may be incomplete information and hence misleading. Thus, there is the need to emphasize racial differences when stating the normal values of kidney dimensions in textbooks of anatomy.

Key words: Adult Nigerians, Cadaveric estimation, Kidney dimensions.