The morphogenesis of the renal plexus: renal artery and sympathetic fibers

Abstract

To examine the origin and development of the renal plexus and its relationship to the renal vessels in embryos and early human fetuses. Serial sections of 34 human embryos (stages 16 to 23 of Carnegie, 4 or 5–8 weeks) and 38 fetuses (9–19 weeks) were analyzed. Throughout the embryonic period, the kidney was not innervated by the renal plexus. Those nerves appeared at the beginning of the early fetal period (9 weeks) as branches given off by the immature autonomic abdominal plexus. The renal nerves started to approach to the kidney during the early fetal period at 9–10 weeks of development. They were distributed in close proximity to the renal arteries and their branches. They were observed first with the settlement of the renal veins. The renal artery is present as a branch of the abdominal aorta at stage 19 (between 6 and 7 weeks) prior to development of the renal plexus. The renal veins were not present during the embryonic period but appeared at the start of the fetal period, along with the renal nerves that emerged from segmented sympathetic para-aortic bodies (SPBs).

In conclusion, the renal plexus starts to form during the early fetal period, which coincides with the establishment of the definitive renal veins, 2 weeks after the definitive renal arteries are identified. The disposition of the renal vessels and renal nerves in adults could be explained by the disposition and progress of the structures during prenatal development