At the renal hilum, a surgeon dissecting from anterior to posterior encounters the structures in which order?

• A Renal artery, renal vein, renal pelvis
• B Renal vein, renal pelvis, renal artery
• C Renal pelvis, renal artery, renal vein
• D Renal vein, renal artery, renal pelvis ✓

Explanation

At the hilum the arrangement from anterior to posterior is vein, artery and pelvis, conventionally memorised as VAP. The renal vein lies anterior because it drains forward into the inferior vena cava. The mnemonic also applies to the suprarenal gland and phrenic vessels nearby. From superior to inferior the order is artery, vein and pelvis, a common source of confusion.

Reference: Gray's Anatomy for Students, 4th ed.

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