An anatomical study of the retroaortic left renal vein.

Retroaortic left renal vein was found in a 55-year-old male cadaver during a student course anatomical dissection. This anomaly coursed dorsal to the abdominal aorta and opened into the inferior vena cava at the upper level of the 3rd lumbar vertebra. This retroaortic left renal vein connected directly to the azygos vein system and the 3rd lumbar vein. It also received the posterior suprarenal and posterior inferior phrenic veins.