Which vessel supplies the kidney with arterial blood?

• A. Renal Artery
• B. Renal Vein
• C. Aorta
• D. Inferior Vena Cava

Answer: (A)

The kidney receives arterial blood through the renal artery, which is a branch of the abdominal aorta. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to tissues, and the renal artery delivers that blood directly into the kidney’s hilum, where it supplies the glomeruli and surrounding nephrons. The renal vein, not the artery, carries blood away from the kidney back toward the heart, into the inferior vena cava. The aorta is the main artery of the body and gives rise to the renal arteries, but the vessel that directly supplies the kidney with arterial blood is the renal artery.