Renal artery stenosis is a cause of hypertension (HTN). However, less than 1 % of all hypertension is due to renal artery stenosis. Nonetheless, it does represent a curable cause of HTN and therefore a high index of suspicion should be maintained when a patient presents with HTN. Seventy percent of stenoses are caused by atheromatous plaques. The other thirty percent are caused by fibromuscular dysplasia. Note in this slide that the right (patient's right) kidney has atrophied to such an extent that it is markedly smaller than the left kidney. The actual stenosis cannot be seen in this specimen. However the aortic atheromas are quite visible.
Click for image
Go to next image in this volume
Back to Master Atlas contents