Size of the Kidney

The Common Vein copyright 2008

Introduction

In adults:
Each kidney is approximately 11 cm long, 2.5 cm thick, and 5 cm wide; it weighs 120-170 gm.

Length: 10-12 cm
Transverse: 5-7 cm
Antero-posterior: 3 cm
Weight:
Male: 150gms
Female: 135 grams*
*size tends to be slightly smaller in females.

The left kidney is often longer than the right; the right kidney tends to be shorter and wider.

The kidney is approximately 10% smaller than the spleen.

The Kidney- Bean Shaped

47021 kidney size character echogenicity fat shape normal anatomy USscan Davidoff MD

 

 

Normal and Small

46566c01 kidney kidneys size normal small anatomy physiology Davidoff MD

Relative Size – Small Left Kidney Normal to LArge Right Kidney

13417 aorta abdomen iliac artery fx atherosclerosis kidney fx small dx RAS renal artery stenosis grosspathology Courtesy Ashley Davidoff MD

Athrosclerotic Occlusion of the Aorta

14646.803 aorta kidney size hypertrophy atrophy artery superior mesenteric artery arc of Drummond IMA inferior mesenteric artery collaterals renovascular disease occluded aorta internal iliac artery fx occluded occlusion small compensatory hypertrophy collaterals MRA MRIscan Davidoff MD

Single Kidney Bicornuate Uterus

46527c01 uterus kidney renal bicornuate uterus single kidney congenital abnormality congenital growth disorder USscan MRI Davidoff MD

” Each kidney is about 11.25 cm. in length, 5 to 7.5 cm. in breadth, and rather more than 2.5 cm. in thickness. The left is somewhat longer, and narrower, than the right. The weight of the kidney in the adult male varies from 125 to 170 gm., in the adult female from 115 to 155 gm. The combined weight of the two kidneys in proportion to that of the body is about 1 to 240.”

Ureters

25 to 30 cm. in length, and is a thick-walled